Faulty EVMs Found At Several Places, EC Debunks Reports

New Delhi: As polling was held in 14 Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in as many as 10 states on Monday, cases of faulty Electronic Vending Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were reported from several booths.

While 11 faulty EVMs were reported from Maharashtra, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines at booth numbers 169, 170 and 222 were replaced during mock poll due to a technical snag in Punjab’s Shahkot assembly.

Former Union minister Praful Patel claimed that almost 25 per cent of EVMs malfunctioned in the bypoll and sought an explanation as to why EVMs from Surat in Gujarat were used in the bypoll when similar machines were available in Maharashtra.

“EVMs were available in Maharashtra. What was the reason for bringing EVMs from Surat in Gujarat? We have expressed our doubts to the Election Commission,” Patel said.

Tabassum Hasan, RJD candidate from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, considered crucial for Lok Sabha elections, wrote to the Election Commission in around 175 polling booths. In Uttarakhand, several political parties also demanded new EVMs.

EVM tampering have been alleged by several political parties in the past.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India debunked the reports of large-scale failure of EVMs and VVPATs.