‘No mismatch between VVPAT slips and EVM numbers’: Maharashtra’s chief electoral officer

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday (December 10) said no mismatch was found between the votes polled and corresponding tally of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips in random counting in last month's Maharashtra assembly elections.

The mandatory counting of VVPAT slips from five randomly-selected polling stations in each assembly constituency was completed successfully, the ECI said in a statement.

Opposition parties in the state had questioned the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition won a landslide victory in the November 20 elections.

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The counting of VVPAT slips aims to verify the tally of votes recorded by the EVMs against the corresponding VVPAT slips, the ECI said, adding that representatives of candidates were present throughout the process.

1,440 VVPAT machines verified

In Maharashtra's 288 assembly constituencies, officials verified a total of 1,440 VVPAT machines. Representatives of candidates and EC observers randomly selected polling stations, the statement said.

"There was no discrepancy found between the candidate-wise vote counts recorded in EVMs and the corresponding counts from the VVPAT slips," the EC stated.

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Special enclosures were established at each counting centre and the entire process was recorded on CCTV, the footage of which has been preserved, it further said.

The counting of VVPAT slips from five polling stations in every constituency is mandatory under the Commission's guidelines. The counting process is considered incomplete and no winner can be declared until this verification is concluded, the poll body said.

The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the elections.

(With agency inputs)