Bhubaneswar: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, Surendra Kumar, on Thursday said he has recommended the Election Commission of India (ECI) to order repolling in six booths, which saw voters exercise their franchise during the second-phase election in the state on Thursday.
He attributed the decision for repolling in these booths to improper handling of electronic voting machines (EVMs) by polling agents.
Talking to mediapersons here in the afternoon, Kumar said the six booths, where polling was badly affected, are Sundargarh (booth no-213), Bonai (booth no-129), Daspalla (booth no-210 and 222), Bargarh (booth no- 68) and Attabira (booth no- 235).
“The fault was not with the EVMs. Rather it was human error by the polling staff,” he said.
The CEO further said that the faulty EVMs were not properly replaced. “Instead of replacing the faulty EVMs with MP machines, polling staff at four booths replaced them with MLA machines. Since polling has been affected in these booths because of human error, appropriate action will be taken against the polling staff,” he added.
