The fate of the candidates sealed in the EVM machines will be revealed tomorrow as the counting is all set to start from 8 am on Sunday.
For the counting of the votes polled through electronic voting machines (EVMs) at 252 polling booths, elaborate arrangements are in place at the Sanskruti Bhawan in Bhadrak. The counting will take place on 14 tables in as many as 18 rounds.
It is likely that the result will be known by 2 pm.
Since a strong contest was seen among the candidates in the fray, it is, as per the political pundits, very difficult to predict who will romp through.
The contest between BJD’s Abanti Sahu, BJP’s Suryabanshi Suraj and independent candidate Rajendra Das is said to be neck to neck.
However, the saffron party is hopeful that Suryabanshi Suraj will win the by-election by a huge margin, more than the margin by which his father late Bishnu Sethi won from the seat in 2019. At the same time, the ruling BJD party is also sanguine about its candidate’s victory.
However, even before the counting of votes, the grand old party has accepted its defeat.
The election to the Dhamnagar seat was necessitated by the sudden demise of sitting MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi. He was elected twice from two different constituencies in his native Bhadrak district. In 2000, he was elected from Chandbali Assembly constituency and in 2019, from Dhamnagar Assembly seat.
(Reported by Partha Sarathi Nayak from Bhadrak, OTV Bureau)
The inspection will be held during a meeting of district collectors chaired by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar during which two officials from Election Commission of India (ECI) will impart training on the use of EVM and VVPAT.
According to sources, the 'First Level Checking' will continue for two months.
Notably, the VVPAT was for the first time used during the previous by-election and will be used for all the constituencies during the upcoming general elections.
The voters' list rectification process is scheduled to begin tomorrow, informed sources.
Earlier on Thursday, the CEO held a meeting with the representatives of different political parties of the State in connection with electoral roll revision ahead of the polls.
Senior government officials including Block Development Officers (BDOs), Sub Collectors and Tehsildars today appeared a test on poll preparations as part of the training exercise at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here today.
“Officials who would be deputed as Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers appeared the qualifying tests today . A total of 166 officials absent or disqualified during a previous test held in April, appeared it again,” informed Kashinath Sahu, Assistant CEO.
Nuapada sub collector, Dhareena Sen Naik, who also attended the programme informed that the test was about preparation on electoral roll and assignment of poll duties.
In a related development, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) will reach the states by September 30.
More than one lakh EVMs will be brought to Odisha from Uttar Pradesh and two officials have been assigned the task to ensure the same, informed sources. The ECI has started examining if the machines are functioning properly.
BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said, “Election Commission has started poll preparations. I believe three major parties in the State including the BJD have kick-started their poll preparation as well.”
Meanwhile, the BJP managing committee today met to review the progress of task given by national party chief Amit Shah. State in-charge Arun Singh also visited Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts to review the party works.
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“BJP is already poll ready and working as per the directive of Amit Shah,” BJP State President, Basant Panda said.
Leaving no stone unturned for poll preparations, OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik informed that names of 50% candidates will be declared by August.
“The ruling party has already started poll preparations which is evident from the number of schemes being launched in past few months. However, Congress will start poll-related work only after August 15,” Patnaik added.
Speaking to media persons, senior party leader Debasis Nayak said not only BJD but parties all over the country will also definitely push for the use of ballot paper instead of EVM if doubts over the fairness of the voting machine arise.
"During an inspection of EVM yesterday in Madhya Pradesh, it was found that when a button identifying Samajwadi Party sign was pressed the vote went to BJP which is shocking indeed. If the incident is true and the machines were being tampered, it’s really a disgraceful incident," he said.
"Who would want that people’s franchise for their own party goes in favour of the other party and that too in clandestine manner," Nayak added.
It is noteworthy to mention here that different political parties raised concerns over the fairness of EVM in the recently concluded assembly polls of five states including UP, Uttarakhand and Goa.
Bhubaneswar: With the first phase Panchayat elections in Odisha scheduled to kick off tomorrow morning, the State Election Commission (SEC) today briefed voting method to the new voters and those who have not fully understood the method of exercising their franchise.
Talking to media persons here, SEC secretary Rabindranath Sahu said unlike the voting which is usually conducted through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in General and Assembly elections, polling would be conducted through the ballot box in the Panchayat polls.
“People coming to the polling booth to exercise their franchise must have any one of the 23 proofs like the voter card, voter ID, Aadhaar Card and driving license etc which they will have to show to the First Polling Officer for verification. After the verification, they will collect the folded ballot paper from the Second Polling Officer who will put indelible ink on their forefinger,” Sahu said.
He also informed that there are different colours of ballot papers for different posts. “The blue ballot paper is for the Ward Member, yellow ballot paper for Sarpanch and violet ballot paper for Samiti Member. Except poll symbols, there would be no mention of the name of the candidates in the ballot paper. However, for the Zilla Parishad, there will be white ballot paper with the name of the candidates and their party symbols with the Sarpanch, Ward Member, Samiti Member and Zilla Parishad Member mentioned serially. The voters have to give their signature or fingerprint on the ballot paper and put the ballot paper inside the ballot box after putting a stamp on a blank box to the right of the name of the candidate they have preferred to vote,” the SEC secretary pointed out.
According to Parthasarathi Rath, Presiding Officer, no one will be allowed to enter into the polling booth after the polling is completed at 12 PM. But those who are in the queue before 12 PM will be allowed to vote. After the polling is over, the counting of votes would begin at 1 PM in presence of the agents of different political parties. After the counting is completed, a list mentioning the number of votes of the candidates, will be handed over to the Section Officer.
The official announcement of the names of the winning Ward Members and Sarpanches will be made on February 23 and Zilla Parishad members and Panchayat Samiti members on February 25.
The party has also exhorted all opposition parties to boycott the polls if their demand was not paid heed to.
Rajya Sabha member of AAP and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Singh told IANS that this was necessary to "save democracy and install faith of the people once again in the election process".
The national spokesman of the AAP further said that the latest revelations clearly shrouded the neutrality of the EVM's and hence should be replaced with ballot papers.
"These EVM's show the benefit of EVM's going to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and takes away from the opposition a level playing field" he said further.
Chief spokesman of the party's state unit, Vaibhav Maheshwari while claiming that the Election Commission was not ready to concede that the EVM's were open for tampering demanded that the poll panel ensure a "public audit" of the EVM's.
Raising doubts on the fairies of the EVM's, the party has demanded that all political parties should write to the Election Commission of India, saying that they will boycott the elections for the Lok Sabha if the EVM's were used for the polls.
"There is no other option but to ban the EVM's and conduct the Lok Sabha and all future elections through ballot paper method" Sanjay Singh said.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday had spoken on similar lines and had cited the example of a "developed nation like Japan" which still used the traditional ballot paper method for elections in their country.
"In view of the recent revelations, further doubts have been created in the minds of people and the EC should taken them into account" the former UP chief minister has said.
The ruling BJP leaders, both in the state and the centre, have trashed the accusations made by the opposition parties and have claimed that by raising doubts on the EVM's, the opposition was making ground for an almost certain defeat at the hustings in the Lok Sabha 2019 polls.
"There is absolutely nothing about the integrity of the system... However, time and again whenever there are eruptions on this, we clarify the issue," Rawat said at an interactive session on "Electoral Integrity and Role of Money in Elections" organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here.
He said the panel had last July announced at an all-party meeting that all elections henceforth would be conducted using EVMs coupled with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.
VVPAT is also being used along with EVMs for enhanced transparency and credibility in the voting process, he said.
"EVM has been made an easy 'scapegoat' by political parties because it cannot speak and political parties need to blame someone for their defeat," he said, and claimed that India's conduct of free and fair elections was admired all across the world.
"It is creditworthy that despite such a large electorate, the Election Commission is able to publish results in just a few hours."
Referring to a survey conducted in 2014 by Harvard University and Sydney University on elections held across the world, he said it found that India did well in nine out of 11 indicators and it ended with an overall score of 59 out of 100.
India's position slipped somewhat due to its performance on just two indicators, namely money and media-based news (including fake news and social media).
"Comprehensive measures were being taken to eliminate use of money and muscle power in the elections," he said.
Shah also said that the BJP's victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election was "definite".
Asked about the apparent drop in the BJP's number of seats, he blamed it on "caste politics" and the "low level of political discourse".
He also said that a meeting would be held to look into the reasons for the reduced number of seats.
"Congress brought the level of the campaign down, because of which our number of seats went down, but our overall performance was good as we got eight per cent more vote share compared to last time," Shah said at a press conference here as the party won both Gujarat and Himachal.
He said in 2012, the BJP got 47.8 per cent votes, while this time, so far it has got 49.10 per cent votes, showing an increase of 1.25 per cent.
"Since 1990, BJP has never lost any election in Gujarat, and it is going to form the government for the sixth time in the state".
"Politics of dynasty, casteism and appeasement has lost... This is the beginning of the new era of performance-based politics.
"I believe in the leadership of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, the face of democracy is changing after 70 years... This is an expression of faith in Modi's developmental policies," he said.
"We are going to form a government, and our vote share has also increased," he added.
Slamming the Congress for bringing down the level of discourse during the Gujarat election campaign, he said: "If they (Congress) can learn a lesson from this, 2019 General Elections will hopefully be held in a better atmosphere."
Asked about allegations of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) being manipulated, Shah said: "Can we change the EVMs? It is not something in hands of the government, it is the Election Commission that handles it."
Official sources said the EVMs were brought in as many as 70 railway containers from Uttar Pradesh and have been kept in Jharsuguda Container Corporation yard.
The EVMs will be sent to various storehouses in Jharsuguda, Cuttack, Bargarh, Sundergerh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Sonepur, Bolangir, Nuapada, Ganjam, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi districts by August 17, sources informed.
More than one lakh EVMs procured from six states Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh will reach Odisha in different slots by September 30, informed sources.
It is to be noted that the Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha had on July 31 ruled out any possibility of early polls while adding that the final voter list in the state will be published on January 4, 2019. While special summary revision of the voter list and publication of draft voter list will start from September 1, objections will be heard by October 31, 2018.
After Mayawati, it was the turn of AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday to blame the humble EVM for the unfavourable (for them) results of the just concluded round of Assembly elections in five states. Regardless of the merit of her charge, Mayawati’s allegation was at least understandable. But the theory propounded by Kejriwal today was so preposterous that it has evoked more mirth than outrage. The AAP chief would like us to believe that the NDA government organized EVM tampering on a gigantic scale to ensure that the BJP wins in Uttar Pradesh but conspired to hand over Punjab to Congress on a platter just to keep AAP out of power! And pray, what was the basis of his allegation? The pre-election assessment of Dr Prannoy Roy and Shekhar Gupta, who had apparently seen an AAP wave sweeping the Majha region!! Things can’t get more ridiculous than this. His response to a question on why EVMs were not tampered with during the Delhi and Bihar elections was even more hilarious. “The people who tamper EVMs, they should answer why they didn’t do so in Delhi and Bihar?” said the man whose national ambitions fell flat on the face after the results of the recent elections.
When this author asked in a Facebook post immediately after the election results why the BJP would do it in UP and not in Punjab, Manipur and Goa, states where it failed to get a majority, a friend helpfully pointed out that ‘because a win in UP would alter the BJP’s standing in the Rajya Sabha in a way that a victory in the other states can’t’!
Make no mistake. An individual EVM machine, as scientists have shown, can indeed be tampered with. But to extrapolate this to conclude that such an exercise was undertaken across thousands of voting booths in a state as populous as Uttar Pradesh - as politicians and sections of the media have done - is to stretch credulity a bit too far. For one thing, it is ridiculous to claim that the BJP led government carried out a hatchet job on such a scale without the Akhilesh Yadav government getting wind of it (it is significant that the outgoing UP CM did not make any such charge on his own, but called for an investigation only after Mayawati raised the issue). For another, far too many people – local police personnel, central paramilitary forces, Election Commission observers, independent video/photographers, media personnel and hundreds of voters – are involved in an Indian election for someone to even attempt to rig voting on such a large scale. Given that state government officials are involved in a big way in the conduct of elections, it is impossible for any Central government to carry out such an elaborate exercise in a state – especially when it is ruled by another party - and then keep it a secret. In any case, the introduction of a paper trail, which enables recounting in case of a dispute, should put all doubts about tampering to rest.
The people making these allegations are perhaps not aware (may be they are!) that a demonstration is carried out on EVMs to be used in the voting in the presence of representatives of all political parties a day before the polls to show that the machines have not been compromised. The exercise is repeated an hour before actual polling to make sure everything is above board. It is only after all parties certify that the EVMs are working fine that polling begins. As the Election Commission pointed out in its letter to Satish Chandra Mishra, national general secretary of BSP, rejecting his charge, “The full Commission made repeated visits to Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand and met the representatives of all parties, including your party. No one raised any objection with regard to functioning of EVMs at these meetings. The Commission has thus not received any complaints during the entire process of elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with regard to your allegation of grave manipulation of EVMs.”
The call made by the Doubting Thomases for a return to the ballot paper is laughable to say the least. They have perhaps forgotten that booth capturing, large scale bogus voting and a huge number of invalid votes used to be the ban of the Indian electoral process in the days of the ballot paper. EVMs, while not 100% foolproof, have certainly brought a semblance of order in what used to be a disorderly process. The demand for doing away with EVMs and going back to ballot papers therefore amounts to a call for anarchy. The demand, if any, should be add more safety measures to make the EVM even less vulnerable to manipulation than it already is.
When the likes of Mayawati and Kejriwal do it, it is understandable. But when respected media houses, journalists and commentators raise the EVM bogie, it can mean only one thing: they are simply unable to reconcile themselves to the scale of the BJP’s victory in UP. It is no coincidence that those at the forefront of the ‘Junk EVM’ movement now are precisely the people who were predicting – more in hope than on the basis of any ground reality – that the BJP would bite the dust in the state.
Issuing the notice to the EC, the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the the election panel to depute an officer to assist the court on the next hearing of the matter on March 25.
The plea was filed by the been filed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Farooq Abdullah (NC), Sharad Yadav (LJD), Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Derek O'Brien (TMC) and M.K. Stalin (DMK).
In the plea, they requested the court that 50 per cent of results of electronic voting machines (EVMs) must be matched and cross-checked with VVPATs before the declaration of results in the general elections.
Earlier in February, the opposition parties approached the EC to audit at least 50 per cent of EVMs with corresponding VVPATs in all constituencies during the Lok Sabha polls.
The parties have said there are "serious doubts about the credibility of EVMs and the purity of the entire electoral process" and asked the EC to mandate physical countercheck of paper trail and match it with the electronic vote in at least 50 per cent of all EVMs, if not all.
* An EVM consists of a control unit and a balloting unit connected together by a cable. The control unit belongs to a polling officer while the balloting unit is kept in a compartment to cast votes.
* After the polling is over, the results can be known instantly at the counting station by pressing the "result" switch which is located in a sealed compartment of the control unit.
* EVMs are manufactured by two Central government undertakings -- Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
* EVMs were first used at 50 polling stations in a by-poll at the Parur Assembly constituency in Kerala in May 1982.
* EVMs could not be used after 1983 after a Supreme Court ruling that necessitated legal backing for the use of voting machines. The law was amended by the Parliament in December 1988, empowering the Election Commission to use voting machines.
* In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, 10.75 lakh EVMs were used across all polling stations in the country. Since then all elections are conducted by EVMs.
* EVMs can even be used in areas with no electricity, as they can be operated on alkaline batteries.
* Elections can be conducted via EVMs provided the number of candidates does not exceed 64. An EVM can record a maximum number of 3,840 votes.
The court said this was being done to ensure the greatest degree of accuracy and satisfaction in the election process.
The court's direction came on a plea by leaders of 21 opposition parties who wanted it to be hiked to 50 per cent of EVM's per Assembly segment.
The court's order is a major setback for the opposition parties as the court has merely increased the quantum of EVM verification using paper trail by 1.99 per cent, that is, out of total 10.35 lakh EVMs, only 20,625 will be used in counting to verify results.
According to the apex court's direction, the VVPAT slips of 5 EVMs in every place will be subjected to physical counting.
The increase in the VVPAT would neither require additional manpower nor delay the results of the Lok Sabha elections, the court noted.
During the hearing, the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the poll panel several question regarding the information mentioned on the slips and the process in place to authenticate the genuineness of these paper slips.
The court also noted that the EC had put a query before the Indian Statistical Institute regarding a reasonable sample size to verify the EVMs. The institute had responded that a sample of 479 EVMs would generate 99.99 per cent accuracy in results.
The opposition parties had demanded raising the number of EVM machines to 5.17 lakh.
With the first phase of voting starting on April 11, the court hoped this would satisfy both the political parties and the voter.
Madhusudan Gupta threw the EVM on the floor at a polling station in the Guntakal Assembly constituency of Anantapur district, the police said.
Gupta, who had come to cast his vote at the polling station in Gutti, was angry with the polling staff over names of Assembly and Parliament constituencies not being displayed properly.
He lifted the EVM and threw it on the floor. The machine was damaged in the incident. Gupta was immediately arrested after the incident, the police added.
In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Naidu identified more than 150 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh and said, "I demand conduct of repoll in all the above polling stations and such other polling stations where the polling has not commenced even at 9.30 a.m. due to the failure of EVMs."
Earlier in the day, Naidu had expressed his unhappiness over EVMs not functioning in several polling booths, including the one where state Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi went to cast his vote. Polling was delayed at several places, Naidu told the media.
"A number of complaints are being received from the contesting candidates, the chief election agents and the media that EVMs in about 30 per cent of the polling stations are not functioning. Therefore, polling did not start even at 9.30 a.m. This is unfortunate and a large number of voters are going back disappointed. This is a severe blow to the electoral process.
"A large number of women and old persons are waiting in the hot sun as there are delays in the commencement of the poll and slow polling process. It is likely that many of the voters who returned may not come back for voting even if the polling is resumed after replacement/repair of the existing EVMs. Therefore, there is a need to order repoll in all the polling stations where polling has not commenced up to 9.30 am," Naidu said in his letter.
Polling is underway in the state for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Naidu said at least now the Election Commission should review its stand on EVMs.
"We have long been saying that there is scope for technical problems and manipulation in EVMs. Even technologically advanced countries are using ballot papers," the TDP chief said.
He said that 22 political parties in the country demanded that at least the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips be counted. He did not agree with the Election Commission that counting of all VVPAT slips will take six days.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the EC to increase the random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly segment, from one at present. The court, however, did not agree to the demand by the parties for matching at least 50 per cent of VVPAT slips with EVMs.
Naidu said they were planning to file a review petition for counting of at least 25 per cent of VVPAT slips.
Of the 70 lakh people, around 53 per cent voted by the end of the day in the Maoist-affected districts of Gaya, Nawada and Jamui in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state.
A few incidents of clashes were reported in some places, a poll official said. In Nawada, officials said, a youth was injured when some people opened fire at a booth during a clash between two groups.
Earlier in the day, crude bombs found near three polling booths in Gaya and one in Aurangabad caused brief panic. All bombs were defused by the police.
There were reports of glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs) at some booths which were later fixed.
At more than half a dozen villages in Gaya, Jamui and Nawada, people boycotted elections protesting lack of roads, schools and health centres.
According to the State Election Commission officials, over 41,000 security personnel were deployed in the area that went to polls on Thursday. Three helicopters were providing air cover to security forces in these areas.
The voters have decided the fate of 44 candidates in the first phase of seven-phase parliamentary elections.
The percentage turnout is expected to increase further since voters were still in queue when the figures last came in.
According to chief electoral officer Venkateshwar Lu, the highest polling percentage (70. 69) was reported from Saharanpur whereas Ghaziabad recorded the lowest of 57.6 per cent. He said there was no case for a repoll in any of the constituencies.
Polling was held on Thursday in Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnore, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar.
Reports of violence came in from Kairana where the local people clashed with security forces following reports of fake voting. The police had to use force and even resorted to firing in the air to disperse the mob.
Glitches in EVMs were also reported from over 100 polling stations and polling had to be stopped for some time till the EVMs were replaced.
The chief electoral officer also denied complaints that certain caste groups were being prevented from casting their votes.
Medium to brisk polling was recorded in most polling booths in all five seats -- Tehri-Garhwal, Garhwal, Nainital, Almora and Haridwar -- with long queues witnessed in many places and people standing for hours to cast their votes.
"The polling was peaceful and fair. The polling percentage was tentatively 58 per cent," said Chief Electoral Officer Saujanya.
Nainital and Haridwar seats recorded 66 per cent voting which was highest in the state. The lowest turnout of 49 per cent was in Almora seat while it was 50 per cent at Garhwal.
Director General of Police Anil Raturi also said that by and large, the polling was peaceful.
Out of the total 11,229 polling booths, nearly 697 polling booths were declared as 'vulnerable' and 656 as 'critical'. Most of the vulnerable and critical booths were in the plains districts such as Udhamsingh Nagar, Haridwar and Dehradun.
Over 45,000 security personnel - 16,000 state police personnel, 65 companies of paramilitary forces and 16,000 home guards - were deployed, along with 67,000 polling personnel.
The BJP, which holds all five seats, is a straight fight against the Congress in almost all the five seats, though in Haridwar, the contest is nearly triangular with the Bahujan Samaj Party's Antriksh Saini giving anxious moments to both BJP, which has fielded former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', and the Congress' Ambrish Kumar.
The main focus will be on Nainital seat where Congress General Secretary and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat faces a stiff challenge from BJP state chief Ajay Bhatt.
In Tehri seat, BJP's sitting MP Mala Rajyalaxmi Shah, the daughter-in-law of late Maharaja Manvendra Shah of Tehri, is confronting state Congress chief Pritam Singh.
Garhwal seat also witnessed a straight fight between Congress' Manish Khanduri, son of former Union Minister and Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri of the BJP, and BJP's national Secretary Tirath Singh Rawat.
Union Minister and sitting MP Ajay Tamta is again pitted against Pradip Tamta of Congress in Almora.
The results will be declared on May 23.
In 2014, the turnout had been 59 per cent.
Barring a few minor incidents, the overall polling in the Maoist-affected area was overall peaceful, the poll panel said.
Maoists tried to hinder polling process through IED blast in Narayanpur district, which comes under Bastar constituency but no injury or casualty could take place due to special security measures with deployment of 80,000 security personnel, it said.
There were total 13,79,133 voters in the constituency, who cast their votes to choose their parliamentary representative from among the seven candidates.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti said after receiving the final reports from all the district magistrates (district electoral officers) that the polling percentage might increase.
"After examining the reports of the central observers, DEOs and facts and evidences of the webcasting of polling, decision of re-polling, if any, would be taken on Friday," the CEO said, admitting that there were official reports of some threats and disturbances in some parts of the constituency.
In 2014, the final polling percentage in Tripura was 85 per cent. The other Lok Sabha constituency in the state -- Tripura East -- goes to the polls in the second phase on April 18.
No major incident, barring a clash between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Charilam in Sepahijala district, was reported on Thursday, a police officer said.
Ten people were injured in the Charilam incident, said police spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty.
"At some places, people tried to prevent voters from voting but were thwarted by the security personnel," Chakraborty told IANS.
Voting was temporarily halted at some polling stations due to the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units, said Election Commission officials.
The voting on Thursday began under heavy security at 7 a.m. and officially ended at 5 p.m.
"However, many voters were still in the queue at different polling stations beyond 5 p.m.," a poll official said.
A total of 13,47,381 electorates were eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of the 13 candidates in the Tripura West constituency.
The main contest here is between BJP candidate Pratima Bhoumik (50), Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front nominee Sankar Prasad Datta (61) and Subal Bhowmik (58), who quit the state BJP Vice President's post to become a Congress aspirant last month.
Arunachal Pradesh has a total of 7,94,162 voters, including 4,01,601 women. Elections to the state Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats were held simultaneously.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kangki Darang said that according to reports available from the respective district election officers (DEOs) roughly 66 per cent voting was recorded in the state till 5 pm.
"Reports from several remote polling booths are yet to be received by this office and even in some polling stations polling is continuing, so the polling percentage will increase," Darang said.
He said that barring a few sporadic incidents of violence and damage of EVM, the polling was by and large peaceful in the state.
Three persons were seriously injured at Pipsorang circle under Tali assembly constituency in Kurung Kumey district after clash took place between supporters of two rival political parties, DGP S B K Singh said.
The injured have been immediately evacuated to Itanagar by a chopper requisitioned by the district administration, the DGP added.
Darang said that as per available reports, polling in 133 booths could not be conducted due to various reasons like damage of EVMs and malfunctioning of voting machines where re-polling would be held.
"Re-polling will be done only after recommendations of the respective district election officers which will be forwarded to the Election Commission and accordingly the Commission will decide," Darang disclosed.
The additional CEO informed that so far total unaccounted cash seized by the police and Election Commission appointed Static Surveillance Teams and the Flying Squads in the state amounted to over six crore.
A polling official died while performing duty in Tirap district, he said.
Tenak Socia polling officer at Upper Primary School polling station under Khonsa West Assembly seat died due to cardiac arrest while performing duty, the additional chief electoral officer told reporters here.
Socia was a work inspector in the Water Resources department.
Terming the incident as unfortunate, Darang said that as per the laid down rules, the Commission would pay minimum ex-gratia of Rs 15 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased
"Liquor worth 1.97 crore were also seized and destroyed in the state," he added.
A total of 45 companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) comprising ITBP, CRPF, IRBn and SSB along with over seven thousand state civil police personnel have been deployed.
There are 2,202 polling stations spread across the state out of which, 281 were identified as vulnerable and 662 as critical polling stations.
This time, there were also 11 polling stations exclusively for women.
The ruling BJP had already opened its account in the assembly polls by winning three seats unopposed.
The winners are Kento Jini from Along East constituency in West Siang district, Taba Tedir from Yachuli seat in Lower Subansiri district and Phurpa Tsering from Dirang seat in West Kameng district.
The BJP has fielded candidates in all the remaining 57 assembly seats while Congress is contesting in 46 seats, the NPP in 30 seats, JD(U) in 15 constituencies, JD(S) in 12 and PPA nine.
Surprisingly, the highest voter turnout - 62 per cent - was notched in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli-Chimur and the lowest - 52 per cent - in Ramtek (reserved for SCs).
The two seats had recorded 69.88 and 62.62 per cent voting respectively in the 2014 polls.
The other constituencies' voting percentages figures were: Bhandara-Gondiya (61 per cent against 72.3 in 2014), Chandrapur (56 per cent against 63.28), Wardha (56 against 64.79), Nagpur (54 per cent against 57.08) and Yavatmal-Washim (55 against 59.25).
An Election Commission official said that in some polling stations, voting continued till well past the closing hour and now the final figures will be available only by early Friday morning.
A total 116 candidates were in the fray for these seven constituencies on Thursday.
A total of 4,32,306 voters comprising 2,20,305 males and 2,12,001 females were eligible to exercise their franchise on Thursday. Sikkim has a 32-member Assembly.
The polling percentage will go up as large number of voters who have queued up at polling stations till 5 pm would be allowed to vote, the CEO said.
There was no report of any violence from anywhere in the state during the polling of the state Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat which was held simultaneously, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ravindra Telang told PTI.
Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling exercised his franchise at Namchi New Secondary School in South Sikkim's Namchi-Singhiyhang assembly seat.
A total of 150 candidates are in fray for the 32 Assembly seats, while 11 candidates are contesting for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state.
Polling was held in 567 polling stations spread across four districts in Sikkim. As many as 39 of 567 polling stations were manned by all-women personnel.
Chamling, who is seeking an eighth successive term as an MLA, is contesting from two assembly seats - Poklok-Kamrang and Namchi-Singhithang.
Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, the working president of the Hamro Sikkim party (HSP) has entered into fray from two assembly seats as well, including the Gangtok assembly constituency, reserved for the indigenous Bhutia-Lepcha communities.
Meghalaya has two Lok Sabha constituencies - Shillong and Tura - and polling was peaceful in both the seats, he said.
The CEO said an FIR was lodged against BJP's Shillong candidate Sanbor Shullai for talking to media persons
within the premises of a polling station when voting is on, flouting Election Commission rules.
"The poll percentage has been recorded at 67.03 per cent as per inputs received from 2,500 of the 3617 polling stations," Kharkongor said in a press conference here.
He said information is awaited from other polling stations due to various reasons including network connectivity and the voting percentage may go up after getting the final figures.
In the 2014 general election, the overall voter turnout was 68 per cent.
The turnout in Shillong constituency was registered at 63.56 per cent of 11,95,662 voters and for Tura, it is 75.60 per cent of 7,15,707 voters.
Some EVMs malfunctioned due to VVPATs but the problem was effectively resolved and polling went off smoothly, Kharkongor said.
"We have 1.86 per cent of VVPAT malfunction which is much below the pan India average at 3 per cent," he said.
Counting will he held on May 23.
Meanwhile, the CEO said a complaint has been registered under the Representative People's Act against Shullai for misconduct.
The FIR filed by the returning officer of Shillong constituency and the presiding officer concerned of Sankerdev College said the candidate addressed a group of media persons within the premises of the polling station.
Shullai told reporters that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will not be implemented in the North East as long as he is alive.
The BJP leader threatened to commit suicide if bill is implemented in the state.
As per the latest figures given by the Election Commission, of the over 34 lakh voters in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar constituencies, an average of 80.85 per cent cast their vote till 5 p.m.
While the polling percentage for Alipurduar was 81.58 per cent, Cooch Behar recorded a turnout of 80.11 per cent, an Election Commission official told IANS.
Even as BJP's Cooch Behar candidate Nisith Pramanik sat on a dharna (sit-in) demanding repoll in all the booths not manned by the central forces, lots of people were still waiting patiently outside the polling stations at 8 p.m., two hours after the scheduled close.
Members of the Toto tribe, which live in isolation in the small enclave of Totopara in Madarihat of Alipurduar district, came out in large numbers to exercise their rights. Around 1,600 Totos are registered as voters.
Enthusiasm also brimmed over in the 51 erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar, which saw a large turnout at the polling booths. The dwellers were voting for the first time to elect the government at the centre.
With organised tea garden workers and their dependents forming a sizeable chunk of the voters in Cooch Behar and about 50 per cent of the electorate in Alipurduar, there were scenes of celebration in the gardens, as the pluckers of the two leaves and a bud spontaneously took part in the democratic process since early morning.
In Kolkata, state Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Arif said that polling was "peaceful" save a "few skirmishes".
Meanwhile, a police case has been initiated against five accused persons after a complaint of car vandalism in a polling station in Cooch Behar's Mathabhanga was registered. An incident of EVM and VVPAT damage was also reported at a polling station in Dinhata.
The voting process in a number of polling stations in Cooch Behar was temporarily disrupted after EVMs stopped functioning. Trinamool Congress district chief and North Bengal Affairs Minister Rabindranath Ghosh alleged a conspiracy.
Bulk of the allegations and incidents of violence were reported from Cooch Behar, particularly under the Dinhata Assembly segment.
Trinamool and BJP workers clashed at Dinhata's Rosmonda Primary School booth, following allegations that the Trinamool workers were beating up and driving away the voters.
In Mathabahnaga, alleged Trinamool-backed miscreants heckled Forward Bloc candidate Gobinda Roy and smashed the windshield of his vehicle after he arrived at the booth following allegations of false voting.
Ghosh also accused the central forces of interfering in the voting process by entering the polling premises even though they were not authorised.
On the other hand, the BJP's Pramanik demanded a repoll in all the booths which were not manned by the central forces and accused the Trinamool of "rigging" 350 polling stations.
While Cooch Behar is a Scheduled Caste reserved seat, Alipurduar is a Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency. Both seats were won by the Trinamool in 2014.
Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain said that out of the 15 incidents reported during the first phase that covered 91 Lok Sabha seats across 18 states and two Union Territories, six incidents were from Andhra Pradesh alone. Jana Sena candidate Madhusudan Gupta was arrested for breaking an EVM at Gooty in Anantapur district.
Another five incidents of damaging EVMs were reported from Arunachal Pradesh, two from Manipur, and one each from Bihar and West Bengal, Jain said.
"We have received the complaints and appropriate legal action is being taken against those involved in damaging the EVMs," he added.
The second phase of polling is being held for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats in the state.
In Sundergarh, technical glitches were reported in the EVMs in several booths in Talsara Assembly constituency while polling was delayed in six booths in Bonai Assembly constituency, said informed sources.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram was in a queue at a booth in Kendudihi due to delayedipolling.
In Bolangir, voting was delayed in several booths due to glitches in EVM. Voters faced similar problems in Kandhamal as well.
EVMs were not working in several booths in G.Udayagiri and in Baliguda.
A 95-year-old man died while waiting in the queue to cast his vote in Kansamari booth of Sanakhemundi which falls in the Lok Sabha constituency.
The deceased has been identified as Natabar Behera of Kansamati village.
A total of 76.93 lakh voters are eligible to vote in the second phase polling in Odisha.
Their journey began from Barala, where Maoists had gunned down polling official Sanjukta Digal day before yesterday. As trees had fallen and obstructed the road near Barala, the polling party was unable to return in their vehicle after the voting for the second phase polls concluded yesterday. With the help of 23 security personnel, 11 members of the polling party and the vehicle driver reached the outpost today.
In another incident, polling officials engaged at booth no-137 and 138 in Sirla panchayat under Baliguda Assembly constituency of Kandhamal district travelled on foot for 15 kilometres to reach Baliguda today. When voting concluded late in the evening yesterday, the polling officials were stranded at their booths in those Maoist-affected areas. Later CRPF jawans reached the booths and brought the polling officials to Tumudibandha. After spending the night at a CRPF camp, the polling officials reached Baliguda with EVMs today.
Meanwhile, polling parties engaged at Naxal infested Sunamudi, Bartia, Rengali and Brahmani villages under Patnagarh Assembly constituency of Bolangir district were brought to Jawaharlal College in Patnagarh today amid high security cover provided by CRPF jawans.
Well, Odisha has clearly come a long way since those good old days, if the incidents of violence, including at least three murders, so far are anything to go by. Organised violent attacks on leaders and supporters of rival parties have become a regular feature in this election. In just the last 24 hours, there have been at least three major incidents of violence in different parts of the state. In the first of these three incidents, at least six persons were injured, two of them critically, in a violent clash between rival groups at Kalikaprasad village in Nayagarh on Saturday. On Sunday, PCC chief Niranjan Patnaik’s convoy was attacked at Bhandaripada village under Ramachandrapur police station in Keonjhar district, leaving him and nine others injured and 10 vehicles damaged. In the third incident, a bomb was hurled on the vehicle of Jagannath Pradhan, BJP candidate for the Bhubansewar (Central) Assembly seat, at Delta Square in the heart of Bhubaneswar.
Let there be no mistake. None of the major political parties is averse to using violence as a means to get votes or ‘teaching a lesson’ to the rival. But based on the evidence so far, there is little doubt that the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been the culprit in most of the cases of violence so far. At one level, this is an indication of the general degeneration of the political process and lumpenisation of the party worker. But at another level, it also can be read as a sign of the desperation of the ruling party; a manifestation of the realization that this election is not going to be a cakewalk that it had assumed it would be. It may still win power for the fifth successive term. But the BJD is certainly feeling the heat this time.
The earliest signal that the ruling party was keen on intimidating rivals and voters alike at election time, however, came in March last year when the Naveen Patnaik government announced the birth of Biju Yuva Vahini (BYV), a purported volunteer force that would supposedly engage in social work, at the expense of the state exchequer. The importance of this force for the present dispensation was clear from the fact that budgetary provision was made for Rs. 450 crore to take care of its expenses for the next three years. A year down the line, everyone knows it’s an extension of the BJD raised at government expense with the ongoing elections in mind. Not for nothing has it been christened Biju ‘Goonda’ Vahini. While it’s not clear if anyone from the BYV is involved in the attacks on rival parties, it is possible that some of them are.
The sheer irony of it! Naveen Patnaik came to power when the lumpenisation of the cadres of the then ruling party (Congress) was complete under the JB Patnaik dispensation. Hordes of hoodlums roamed the city streets and goons terrorized villagers as the police looked on helplessly. Naveen came as a breath of fresh air and promised an end to this culture of violence – and actually delivered on that promise during the early years of his Chief Ministership. But alas! Nearly two decades after, he has presided over the return to that same despicable culture.
It’s back to square one after 19 years!
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain said that ever since their introduction, such a large number of EVMs had not be used in a single phase.
Even as snags in EVMs were reported from different polling stations like in the previous two phases on April 11 and April 18, Jain said only 0.57 per cent of ballot units and 0.58 per cent of control units of the EVM machines had to be replaced, while 2.24 per cent of total VVPATs deployed were also replaced.
"Out of total 2,81,436 ballot units deployed, 1,593 had to be replaced, while out of 2,11,158 control units, only 1,225 had to be replaced," he told the media.
He added that out of 2,11,158 VVPATs deployed, 4,725 were replaced.
"However, one should consider that it does not mean that many VVPATs malfunctioned. Protocol says that when any ballot or control unit is not functioning and has to be replaced, the corresponding VVPAT is also replaced," Jain said.
Earlier, there were reports of EVMs malfunctioning in different polling stations.
In Kerala, poll officials said that EVMs failed to function in some booths and were subsequently replaced. Many leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressed their concern over the faulty voting machines.
In Wayanad, from where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Thushar Vellappally demanded re-polling after glitches were found in an EVM at a polling station.
In Uttar Pradesh, Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, who is contesting from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, alleged that over 300 EVMs were not functioning properly.
However, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Brahma Dev Ram Tiwari said that no machine in Rampur had any problem.
SP candidate from Badaun Dharmendra Yadav lodged a complaint with the EC against the malfunctioning of EVMs and accused the district administration of conspiring for his defeat.
In the Rohilkhand region of the state, glitches were reportedly found in around 60 EVMs. Twenty-seven cases were reported from Badaun, followed by Bareilly (14), Moradabad (11), Sambhal (7), Pilibhit (5) and Aonla (5).
In Karnataka and Bihar, glitches in EVMs and VVPAT machines at many polling stations delayed or held up voting in the initial hours.
In West Bengal also, glitches in EVMs were reported at a few polling stations in the Malda North seat, stalling voting for some time.
In Goa, all the EVMs at a polling station in the Cuncolim Assembly constituency in South Goa were replaced after reports of malfunctioning.
Officials in Tripura also said that voting was temporarily halted in around 100 polling stations due to the malfunctioning of either EVMs or VVPAT machines.
Addressing a press conference here, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said the polling percentage is expected to improve once the final figures come from states.
"The overall polling percentage in third phase was 66 per cent. It was 69.03 per cent in 2014," he said.
The third phase election took place on 117 constituencies spread across 13 states and two union territories.
"With the third phase election, election has been concluded in 22 states and union territories," he said.
The polling percentage was quite low at 12.86 per cent in six assembly constituencies of Anantnag that went to the polls on Tuesday. The poll percentage was 39.37 per cent in 2014. Anantnag has a three-phase schedule.
The interim polling percentage was 74.05 per cent in Assam compared to 80.21 per cent in 2014, Chhattisgarh 64.02 per cent (69.01 per cent in 2014), Karnataka 60.42 (67.2 per cent in 2014), Goa 70.9 per cent (76.86 in 2014), Gujarat 59 per cent (63.34 in 2014), Kerala 73.06 per cent (74.02 in 2014), West Bengal 78.97 per cent, Tripura 79.64 per cent (83.02 in 2014), Bihar 60 (59.08 in 2014), Maharashtra 62 per cent (62.86 in 2014), Odisha 64 per cent (73.75 in 2014) and Uttar Pradesh 60.52 per cent (61.48 in 2014).
The polling percentage was 71.43 per cent in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (84.08 in 2014) and 73 per cent in Daman and Diu (77.84 in 2014).
Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain said there was an incident of EVM button not working in Thiruvananthapuram and it was resolved to satisfaction of all candidates.
He said election officials received a complaint that vote was going to a particular party on pressing the button, but it was discovered that button against the name of Congress candidate was not working. He said the complaint was received after 76 votes had been cast in the polling station.
He also said there were reports of 11 deaths in the state due to natural causes.
Officials also said that there was a report of boycott in a polling station in Assam.
“As we are engaged in election duty, we are here despite the scorching heat. However, we are being deprived of exercising our franchise. Being the citizens of India, it is our fundamental right to cast votes. Therefore, we request the concerned officials and the state government not to deprive us from casting our votes,” alleged one of the polling staff.
Echoing similar concerns another polling official said, “Hundreds of teachers are here with all valid documents and are willing to cast votes. When we approached the concerned official, he did not pay heed to our request saying he was busy with some other work.”
Meanwhile, the Nodal Officer in charge of postal ballots, Sukadeb Behera said that distribution of postal ballot papers was stopped following some disturbance created by the polling staff. However, their problems will be solved soon, he added.
Similarly, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, Surendra Kumar also assured to look into the matter.
Kendrapara among six other Parliamentary constituencies along with 41 Assembly segments therein will go to polls on April 29 in the fourth and final phase in Odisha.
The court issued the notice on a petition seeking the decriminalization of the act of filing complaints regarding discrepancies between EVMs and VVPATs.
According to section 49 MA of Code Of Election Rules, if a person files a complaint regarding the discrepancy (voted for a particular party but it went to some other party) regarding the EVM, and, if after investigation this is found to be false or incorrect, then the complainant can be prosecuted under section 177 of IPC for "furnishing false information. This section invites six months in jail or a Rs 1,000 fine or both".
Petitioner Sunil Ahya contended before the court that such a clause deters an elector from reporting any discrepancies observed at the time of casting vote.
"Deviant behaviour and lodging a complaint which is an essential ingredient in a continuous exercise for improving the electoral process," said the petitioner.
Two youths sustained pellet injuries in clashes with the security forces in Kulgam district. Both were shifted to Srinagar for treatment, police said.
Although there are 18 candidates in Anantnag, one of three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley, the main contest involves former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of the People's Democratic Party, Ghulam Ahmad Mir of Congress and Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi of the National Conference.
The total electorate eligible to vote on Monday was 345,486 and covers Kulgam district. The first phase of voting involved Anantnag district and the third and final round will cover the districts of Pulwama and Shopian.
Despite the promise of unprecedented security, the voter turnout was pathetic on Monday.
Of the 76,468 voters in Nooradabad Assembly segnment, only 15,663 voted. In Devsar, of the total 91,233, a mere 15,160 came to the polling booths.
In Kulgam, out of 97,569 voters, a merely 1,684 exercised their right to franchise. The voting percentage was more pathetic in Homshalibugh: out of 78,278 voters, only 891 voted.
Indeed, more migrant voters -- 1,762 -- voted in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi, officials said. This was out of 1,938 migrant voters.
An Election Commission official here said the overall total voter turnout came to 10.2 per cent.
As the voting began, some youths took to the streets throwing stones to disrupt the polling. Security forces then opened fire to disperse the mobs.
At the Laram polling station in Homshalibugh, voting was delayed for 40 minutes due to a faulty Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
A total of 433 polling stations had been set up at 244 locations.
As a precaution, mobile Internet services were suspended in the south Kashmir areas. Train services between Baramulla and Banihal were also cancelled.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Sofi Yusuf and the People's Conference Choudhary Zafar Ali. In addition, a woman candidate, Ridwana Sanam, is contesting as an Independent.
For the first time in the electoral history of the state, a non-local, Shams Khwaja, a lawyer from Uttar Pradesh, is also in the race.
The last phase of the three-phased poll process in this constituency is scheduled on May 6.
Speaking to media persons, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, Surendra Kumar said that the constitutional authority has decided to change the locations of two of the strong rooms where the EVMs have been kept after the conclusion of 4-phase elections in the state.
“The EVMs of Erasama- Balikuda (103) and Jagatsinghpur (104) Assembly constituencies at SVM Autonomous College, Jagatsinghpur, will be shifted to the first floor from the ground floor of the same building,” said Surendra Kumar.
“Likewise, the EVMs of Mohana (136) and Paralakhemundi (137) Assembly segments will be shifted to the newly built EVM godown near Gajapati Collectorate as a precautionary measure,” he added.
According to the CEO, the poll candidates of the concerned constituencies have been apprised about the shifting process which will be video-graphed.
Speaking about the shifting of the EVMs, Gajapti Collector Anupam Saha said, “We are told that there will be extremely heavy rainfall and wind flow following which the Election Commission has instructed us for the safety and security of the polled EVMs. That is why we are shifting the strong room to the newly built EVM godown near the Collectorate.”
Quoting India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Bishnupada Sethi today informed that cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ is expected to make landfall in Puri at 5:30 PM on May 3.
Adarsh Gupta, a resident of Matia Mahal area, claimed that at polling booth number 84, 85 and 86, electronic voting machines were initially not working in the morning.
Aam Aadmi Party's Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti alleged that EVMs at booths number -- 116,117 and 122 -- were not functioning.
"EVM in booth 132, Hauzrani is showing 50 votes without anyone casting any vote in the machine n EVMs at booths 116,117, 122 in Malviya nagar not functioning," Bharti tweeted.
However, there was no immediate reaction from the chief electoral office.
Mudit Agarwal, son of Congress' Chandni Chowk candidate JP Agarwal, alleged malfunctioning of EVMs at some booths in Matila Mahal and Ballimaran Assembly segments.
According to a police official, they received information about an EVM not working at Begum Pur in Rohini but it was rectified.
AAP's Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh alleged that EVMs at polling booth number 27 were not working in the morning.
"At Prithivi Park polling booth in Tilak Nagar Assembly, EVMs had not been working since 7 am at polling booth - 27. It is the same area where AAP's vote bank is considered," Singh said.
He said the Election Commission claimed that faulty EVMs are changed within ten minutes, but at ground, such claims are telling a different story
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said voters were unable to find their votes at polling booths in his Najafgarh constituency.
"Voters unable to find their votes at polling Booths. It is true that on large scale votes have been deleted. All these are resident of Jai Vihar I, Najafgarh (sic)," Gahlot tweeted.
Over 1.43 crore people in Delhi are eligible to vote in this election which will decide the fate of 164 candidates, of which 18 are women. There are 43 independent candidates.
While 2,54,723 voters are in the age group of 18 and 19, there are 40,532 electorate with disability who would be provided pick up and drop facility.
The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
As per the High Court order, no police action can be initiated against Mishra until further orders, informed sources. The High Court granted interim protection while hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Om Prakash.
A complaint was lodged against Mishra for allegedly vandalising EVM and thrashing the presiding officer Sibaram Mohapatro at polling booth no 78 at Birakesharpur village under Satyabadi police limits of Puri district during the third phase polls on April 23.
Two persons-- Manoj Samantray and Akhaya Biswal were also arrested in this regard the following day while Mishra is on the run.
"From Electoral Bonds and EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, 'Modi's Army' and now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission's capitulation before Modi and his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared and respected. Not anymore," he tweeted.
Gandhi has earlier also accused the Election Commission of being biased.
During a press conference in the national capital on May 17, Gandhi said, "The Election Commission has a different set of rules for the Prime Minister and the BJP and different rules for other opposition parties. The biasness of the Election Commission is visible."
The Congress leader has also accused the Election Commission of planning the election schedule to benefit Modi.
In a blog, the senior BJP leader asserted that voters are sending several messages including one that they don't elect a hung parliament where "ugly" and "untenable" coalitions have a role to play.
"Exit Polls are based on personal interviews. The EVMs have no role. If the results of the exit polls and final results on May 23 are in the same direction, the Opposition's fake issue of the EVMs would also lose its non-existent rationale," he said.
If the exit polls are read along with the 2014 election results, he said it would be clear that there is a "huge maturing" of Indian democracy taking place.
"The electorate keeps national interest paramount before exercising a choice on whom to vote for. When well-meaning people with similar ideas vote in the same direction, it leads to the making of a wave," he said in the blog titled "The Message of Exit Polls".
Listing the takeaways from the exit polls, he said dynastic parties, caste parties and the obstructionists received a setback in 2014 and it will be reiterated loud and clear in 2019.
"Coalition of rivals are untenable alliances and the voters are no longer willing to trust them. Political analysts are confused but the voters are clear. They don't elect hung Parliament where ugly and untenable coalitions have a role to play," he said.
He said the arithmetic of caste coalitions loses to the chemistry on the ground created for the front runner in the elections. "This chemistry is in form of catching the imagination of the people on issues of national interest," he said.
Slamming the Congress, Jaitley said fake issues only satisfy the "manufacturers of fakery" and the voters don't buy them.
"The personalised campaign against Prime Minister Modi did not cut much ice in 2014 and may not cut any ice in 2019. Leaders are judged on merit and not on caste or family names. Thus, the Prime Minister's style of rising above caste and concentrating on performance related issues received far more acceptability with the electorate," he said asserting that the first family of the Congress is no longer an asset but an albatross around the party's neck.
"Without the family, they don't get the crowd, with it they don't get the votes," he added.
He said many politicians believe that ultimate wisdom lies only with them and they are unwilling for any radical solutions.
"The evolving 'New India' will accept structured parties with talent and ideological clarity concentrating on performance. If, however, the political parties are unwilling to get the message of 2014 and possibly of 2019, then alienation from the electorate will only widen," he said.
Twelve of 14 exit polls predicted the NDA getting a full majority with seats ranging from 282 to 365. A party or an alliance needs 271 seats to form the government as the Lok Sabha elections were held on 542 of the 543 seats.
The exit polls predicted the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance getting 82 to 165 seats. Six exit polls predicted that 'other' parties were likely to get more seats than the UPA.
The plea was been filed by Tech for All, a Chennai-based organisation.
A vacation bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, dismissed the plea observing that a larger bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had already conducted a detailed hearing in the matter and passed an order.
The court pulled up the petitioner asking why had his plea been brought before a vacation bench when the CJI had already dealt with the matter. "This is nonsense. We cannot override the CJI's order....The petition is taken on board. Dismissed," said Justice Arun Mishra.
On April 8, an apex court bench headed by the CJI, directed the Election Commission (EC) to increase random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs from one to five machines at polling booths per Assembly segment in the general elections.
The court observed that the increase in the number would provide greater satisfaction to the electorate as well as the political parties.
On May 7, the top court dismissed a petition filed by 21 Opposition parties to review its April judgment.
"They must do so and put all speculations to rest," he said in a statement.
Mukherjee said the safety and security of the EVMs, which are in ECI custody at present, was the Commission's responsibility and there was no room for speculations that challenge the very basis of our democracy.
"People's mandate is sacrosanct and has to be above any iota of reasonable doubt. I'm a firm believer in our institutions and my considered opinion is that it is the 'workmen' who decide how institutional 'tools' perform," his statement added.
Refuting reports on social media about the transportation of EVMs in Phagwara town, a senior electoral officer told IANS that all the EVMs used during Sunday's voting in the state have been stored safely as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
He said all arrangements have been made, including foolproof security, to conduct the counting of ballots at designated centres on May 23.
Punjab voters voted to elect all their 13 Lok Sabha MPs on May 19.
Election Commission officials in Agartala and Aizawl said previously they had to tally Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips of a single polling station of an Assembly segment with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) vote count.
The officials said following Supreme Court orders, the EC has directed to tally VVPAT slips with EVM vote count in five polling stations - instead of one - in each Assembly segment under a Lok Sabha constituency.
Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti said that 40 counting halls would be set up in 17 locations across Tripura to count the votes of two parliamentary constituencies in the state.
"Around 520 teams would count the votes sealed in the EVMs. Central paramilitary personnel would be deployed in and around the 40 counting halls in eight districts," the CEO told IANS.
In all 13 candidates, including a woman, are trying their electoral fortune in the Tripura West parliamentary constituency while 10 candidates, including two women, are in the fray for the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat, reserved for tribals.
Re-polling was held on May 12 in 168 of the total 1,679 polling stations in the Tripura West constituency as huge electoral malpractices were found during the first phase of voting held on April 11. Polling for the Tripura East seat was held on April 23.
Mizoram CEO Ashish Kundra said in Aizawl on Tuesday that 40 counting halls would be set up in 10 locations across the mountainous state to count the ballots of the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state. Counting of ballots of the by-elections to the Aizawl West-I Assembly seat would also be done on Thursday.
Elections to the lone Lok Sabha seat and by-poll to Aizawl West-I Assembly seat were held simultaneously in the first phase of polling on April 11.
Altogether six candidates, including independent aspirant Lalthlamuani, who is the first woman candidate contesting parliamentary polls in the northeastern state, are in the fray.
The charges of manipulations surfaced after some videos went viral, purportedly showing EVMs being transported in open trucks. There were claims that these trucks were transporting EVMs to the EC strong rooms in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
One video was claimed to be of Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, with EVMs being seen off-loaded and purportedly placed inside a room. The clip shows some people, apparently supporters of Samajwadi Party, questioning it.
Dismissing the allegations of manipulation as "baseless" and "frivolous", the Election Commission, in a statement, said the voting machines are stored in proper security and protocol in the presence of candidates of the political parties.
"Certain complaints of alleged movement of EVMs, purportedly to replace the polled EVMs in the strong rooms, have been doing the rounds in sections of media. Election Commission of India would like to emphatically and unambiguously clarify that all such reports and allegations are absolutely false, and factually incorrect. The visuals seen viral on media do not pertain to any EVMs used during the polls," the EC said.
"The aspersions in clips being used in media merely pertain to the storage or movement of reserve unused EVMs. However any case of lapse even in handling of reserve EVMs is thoroughly investigated and disciplinary action taken against the officers responsible. An EVM Control Room 011-23052123 will also be functioning at Nirvachan Sadan for handling any EVM related complaints till the completion of counting. This will become operative from 11 a.m. on May 22," the Commission added.
Sharing information about Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, the Commission said there was an issue regarding "having watch on polled EVM strong room by the candidates", which was resolved by conveying the EC instructions.
About charges regarding Chandauli, the EC denied that the EVMs were being changed and said the allegations by some people were "frivolous". It said the "EVMs were in proper security and protocol".
It said additional unused EVMs from Sakaldiha assembly segment of Chandauli were brought to Naveen Mandi Sthal and they were meant to be stored in a different room at the place.
"Thirty five additional unused EVMs were kept at the Sakaldiha tehsil. These couldn't be transported on Sunday and were brought from Sakaldiha on Monday to be stored in a different place," District Election Officer Navneet Singh Chahal said.
Regarding Domariaganj, the EC said the EVMs were in "proper security and protocol". "Agitation was unnecessary. They were convinced by DM (District Magistrate) and SP (Superintendent of Police). The matter is resolved."
On issues raised in Jhansi, the EC said the EVMs are "stored in proper security and protocol in the presence of political parties and candidates".
It said that all the cases, the EVMS and VVPATs used in polls were sealed properly in front of the candidates and stored in places with CCTV cameras installed, guarded by central armed police force personnel, while one representative - at one time - of each candidate could keep an eye.
"The allegations are baseless," the EC added.
On the counting day, the EC said, the strong rooms are opened in the presence of the candidates and agents and observer under videography.
Before the counting of EVMs commences, the Commission said, the counting agents are shown the address tags, seals and serial number of the EVMs to satisfy themselves about the genuineness and authenticity of the machines used in the actual polls.
The Election Commission (EC) said it would discuss the issue on Wednesday.
Leaders of these opposition parties, who held a meeting here on the issue and then jointly approached the EC, also raised concerns over reports about Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) being "replaced" at various places.
"All the VVPATs should be counted at the beginning. If there are any discrepancies, total VVPAT (voter verified paper audit trail) of the entire assembly segment should be counted," Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu told reporters after meeting the EC officials.
Naidu, who has been spearheading the opposition's campaign against the EVMs and to build a non-BJP front, asked what problem did the Commission have in implementing their suggestions.
"A former Chief Election Commissioner has made it clear that it is a duty of EC to keep transparency and create confidence among the voters. People's mandate cannot be manipulated," he said.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the suggestions of the Opposition parties were "no brainer" and they were a part of their memorandum submitted to the commission a month ago.
"In last one and a half months, we have raised these issues with other opposition parties. There is nothing to disagree. It is a small, simple measure, which is a confidence-building measure.
"They (EC) have assured us that they will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) and discuss our suggestions," he said.
Singhvi said the EC did not have to change even a rule. "It is merely a change of guidelines, the procedures that you count first."
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the EC was apprised of reports about the replacement of EVMs.
"All political parties spoke about how EVMs were found in private vehicles near the strong rooms. Also, we told the officials how votes would go to the BJP when it was actually given to a candidate from the different party," he said.
The opposition parties will decide the next course of their action if the EC refused to accept their demands, Naidu said.
The delegation also comprised of Nationalist Congress Party's Praful Patel, DMK's Kanimozhi, Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Misra, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Jha, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitraram Yechury, Communist Party of India leader D. Raja and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Other parties that took part in the meeting were the Janata Dal-Secular, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Jharkhand Vikas Morch-Prajatantrik, the Loktantrik Janata Dal, the National Conference, the NPF, and the Hindustani Awami Morcha.
The memorandum submitted by the 22 parties represented "the voice of 70 per cent of the electorate in the country", said Raja.
Asked about the exit polls showing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning with a majority, Raja said the issue was not discussed at the meeting.
Singhvi, however, said the Congress disagreed with it citing "incorrect" prediction by pollsters in the past.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The Election Commission (EC) has rejected our request to check the VVPAT slips, which we came to know through the media reports. The interesting thing is we have not received any formal orders yet."
Singhvi said earlier the poll panel had declined 15-20 requests of the party without giving any reason.
The Congress Rajya Sabha MP said, "The Supreme Court has made it clear that votes recorded in the EVMs and the VVPATs (voter verified paper audit trail) slips of one polling stations in each Assembly are needed to be verified."
Singhvi said the EC for "confidence building" should have accepted the request by 23 opposition parties that "represent 75 per cent of the population".
"We are only demanding that the VVPAT slips of one random Assembly should be counted to build confidence in the people. During our talks with the Election Commission, they cited rule 56(B). But the rule 56(D) says for mandatory sample check of the VVPAT slips," he said.
"Rule 56(B) and 56(D) are complete different things," he said.
Taking a pot shot at the EC, the Congress leader said the model code of conduct had become 'Modi prachar sanhita'. Dubbing the EVMs as electronic victory machines, he said the Election Commission had become an enfeebled commission.
"We are not demanding re-poll. We are only demanding sample counting of the VVPAT slips," he said and added, "They (EC) are not sharing the dissent notes, delaying the requests and are applying biased approach. It's a black day for democracy."
While leaders of the Opposition have already started blaming EVM following exit poll projections, Panda during an interview with news agency ANI, criticised this saying it has become a tradition that whoever loses the poll blames EVM for the verdict.
“Either a candidate who loses poll files case alleging EVM errors or moves the Election Commission to lodge grievances or hold press conferences. This has become a tradition and no one should take it seriously. Such allegations are unfortunate as for more than three decades credibility of EVM and Election Commission have been established.”
Throwing light on the position of BJP in Odisha, Panda said “In Odisha, BJP is the only party which is growing. As per exit polls, performance of other parties has come down. BJP will win many Lok Sabha seats.”
Though in terms of Assembly constituencies, exit poll is mixed, we are confident of forming the government in Odisha, Panda emphatically said.
On the party’s chief ministerial candidate, Panda said, “When I joined the party, I had not laid out any conditions. I got lot of respect and made the party’s national vice president. I am happy being associated with the party. Dharmendra Pradhan is my friend. Other senior leaders like KV Singh Deo, Jual Oram and Pratap Sarangi are also present in the party. There is no dearth of talents in the party. Definitely we will work together as per the decision taken by the party and responsibility given to us. I am ready to take the responsibility given to me and would support others as well.”
On forming alliance with other parties at the Centre, Panda said “The issue has been addressed by party president Amit Shah. He said that the party is confident of winning more than 300 seats and the NDA will form government at the Centre under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. If other parties decide to join the NDA, we are open to it. I have no personal bias towards anything. Whatever the party decides and is in the interest of BJP and the country, I agree to that.”
In the past two days, video clips have gone viral, purportedly showing "unauthorised" transportation of the EVMs at various places.
The Election Commission said the entire process of polling and subsequent storage of EVMs in strong-rooms is fool-proof.
As per its guidelines, the EVMs are transported back to the reception centres under proper escort by a contingent of central paramilitary forces and state police.
The complete set of Control Units (CU), Ballot Units (BU) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) of a particular polling station are supposed to be kept in the same strong room.
The room is sealed under double lock in the presence of the candidates or their agents and the observer.
Unused VVPATs and unused EVMs are stored in a separate strong room.
The EC said video and digital photography with date and time recording should be done during transport and storage of EVMs.
The CPF with a minimum strength of one platoon is responsible for guarding the strong room where the polled EVMs are stored and kept till the day of counting.
There is no need to air condition the strong room and it is to be kept it free from dust, dampness, and rodents as in the case of ballot boxes.
Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence as the trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead on 298 seats while the Congress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion.
Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the results trends on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections.
Earlier in the morning, some party workers performed a "havan" outside the party office, praying that the day will bring good results for the party.
However, the party leaders were taken aback by the trends as they were expecting a minimum of 100 seats.
Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh said the party fought the Lok Sabha elections on issues which affected the common man and focused on development matters.
"Let us wait for the final results," he said.
"The provisional voter turnout data reported on EC website is only the tentative number of voters and not the final numbers. Therefore, it is incorrect inference to find ghost voters when there are none," the poll panel's Under Secretary Pawan Diwan said in a statement.
He said that the provisional voter turnout data was displayed as a percentage figure on the EC website and Voter Helpline Mobile App on the poll day as uploaded by the Returning Officer (RO), Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) based on the approximate percentage turnout figures obtained from sector magistrates. The sector magistrates get these data periodically over phone or in person from about 10 presiding officers.
The EC said that two categories of votes are counted to arrive at the final result of the general elections.
First was votes polled in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) by general voters from over 91.1 crore electors at various polling stations while the second category is postal ballots returned from over 18 lakh service voters and also from the polling personnel deployed for the poll duties, outside their Parliament Constituency (PC).
"After scrutiny of documents by the RO, provisional number of general voters' turnout is compiled and uploaded on the EC website based on the polling station wise tentative voter turnout data reported by the Presiding Officers, with male/female voter break up, added together to get the PC wise provisional voter turnout," the EC said.
All these figures are provisional, based on estimates which are subject to change as is made clear from the disclaimer on the website that "the data is estimated and subject to change".
This provisional voter turnout data is made available by ROs at regular intervals, which is collated by Chief Electoral Officers and the EC on the website for wider dissemination and to ensure transparency in information dissemination.
At the time of counting, postal ballots received up to 8 a.m. on counting day are first pre-counted and valid postal ballots are then taken up for actual counting.
Based on both the EVM votes and the postal ballots counted, the Returning Officer prepares Form 21E and Index Card in which the break up of voter turnout, including tendered votes for the constituency, is tallied to get the final voter turnout for each constituency.
Form 21E is the return of election as specified under rule 64 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, for which the sole authority is the Returning Officer concerned. Also, the Index Card in use since the last over five decades, is prepared by the Returning Officer to furnish the voting data (including postal ballot data), polled and counted, after the declaration of the result, which becomes the final authenticated data for all purposes including analysis and research.
For general elections 2019, the Commission directed all the Returning Officers on March 26 to send the Index Cards within 15 days of the declaration of the result.
In earlier elections, it used to take months to collect such authenticated election data from all the ROs. Even in 2014, it took between 2 to 3 months after the declaration of results to collect and collate such data in authenticated form.
Due to the innovative IT initiatives taken by the Commission this time, the final data on votes counted has been made available within a few days of the declaration of results.
The recently held Lok Sabha elections registered a turnout of 67.11 per cent, according to tentative data released by the EC after the polls.