Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R N Gopalan on Monday rubbished allegations of a political party about a truckload of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being covertly moved from Ganjam district to Nuapada ahead of the by-election to the Assembly constituency on November 9.
BJD, in a memorandum submitted on Sunday, alleged that a truckload of EVMs was brought to Nuapada at the last moment, raising fears of vote manipulation.
Calling the claims “baseless and impossible,” Gopalan clarified that EVMs were sourced only from designated local warehouses. “Every district has EVM warehouse/s secured by police and CCTV surveillance. EVMs for the bypoll were procured only from those stored in the warehouse in Nuapada. The allegation that the Nuapada Collector brought EVMs from Ganjam is entirely false. We also have the list of all EVMs used even for training and creating awareness among the voters and those are in our custody. Voters should not believe in channel peddling such lies,” he said.
Since this is a serious allegation, therefore this office felt it necessary to explain the rules and directions of the Election Commission (EC) on the security of EVMs for the knowledge of people and voters at large, he added.
The CEO further stated that CCTV footage of the two warehouses in Ganjam were examined following the complaint and no irregularity was found. “We verified the video recordings ourselves and found that the warehouses were intact. There was no movement of any EVMs. Warehouses are opened every three months for inspection but those in Ganjam were not opened this month. No truck entered or exited the two EVM warehouses in Ganjam in recent past,” he confirmed, while elaborating on the four stages of readying EVMs for the bypoll.
Gopalan said that each of the four-step process of EVM preparation—first level checking, first randomisation, second randomisation, and commissioning— was conducted in the presence of political parties, candidates, or their representatives, with lists of serial numbers shared and acknowledgements obtained.
He added that since commissioning, all machines were kept in the returning officer’s strong room under Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and police guard with CCTV surveillance. On Monday, the strong room was opened under videography in the presence of candidates or their agents, and the machines were dispatched to presiding officers for all 358 polling stations.
He said that the EC is very particular about discipline. “Every BU (ballot unit), CU (control unit), and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) carries a unique serial number, and these are shared with candidates. Polling agents can verify them before mock polls and again on counting day. At every stage, transparency is ensured. This is our responsibility, our duty and service to the nation. We are doing nothing that is not stipulated by the EC,” he stressed.
Arrangements for Nov 11 polling
Meanwhile, Nuapada Collector and District Election Officer (DEO) Madusudan Dash said that all arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of polling for the bypoll on November 11.
He further informed that polling parties started leaving for the 358 booths with EVM machines and all necessary equipment on Monday. “The district administration has made all the necessary preparations in a systematic manner,” he said in a post on X.
Two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters have also been kept ready to ferry polling officials to and from voting stations in Nuapada’s hilly terrains and Naxal-affected regions of Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary. “Eight polling stations’ officials will be airlifted from Gotma airstrip to Sunabeda helipad,” Das said, adding that the chopper would ensure timely transport, with Gotma airstrip equipped with sufficient lighting for safe late-evening landings.
A total of 47 polling stations have been identified as Naxal-hit, where voting will be held from 7 am to 5 pm.
“Each booth will have six personnel, one presiding officer, three polling officers and one micro-observer,” the DEO added.
A total of 2.53 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 358 booths in the constituency to decide the electoral fate of 14 candidates on the day of polling.