Congress, AAP raise concerns over faulty EVMs in Goa

Opposition parties Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on April 23 claimed that EVMs and VVPAT machines malfunctioned at some polling booths in Goa. Leader of Opposition in Goa Assembly Chandrakant Kavlekar alleged foul play by the BJP and said he will complain about this to the Election Commission.

Expressing concern over faulty EVMs in Cuncolim and Quepem Assembly segments, he said, “During mock polling, all votes were getting registered in the BJP’s name despite pressing buttons of other parties. I will be filing a complaint with the Election Commission. This is foul play by the BJP.”

AAP’s South Goa Lok Sabha seat nominee Elvis Gomes also claimed that during the mock drill at a booth in Cuncolim, the votes registered were more than those polled. “Total eight votes were polled during the mock drill, but the result showed 17 in name of BJP, eight for AAP and seven for Congress. How is this possible? This seems to be trend across India,” he said.

A voter in St Cruz Assembly segment of North Goa Lok Sabha seat claimed that the EVM button was not getting pressed for the candidate chosen by him. “I brought this to the notice of the election officer who had to then halt the polling process,” he told reporters. Meanwhile, state additional chief electoral officer Narayan Sawant said after getting complaints, the faulty EVMs and VVPAT machines were replaced. “Initially, there were complaints but now everything is going on smoothly,” he said.