'No EVM-VVPAT mismatch': ECI amid Maharashtra opposition's claims
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected allegations of discrepancies between the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips and the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) results in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections. The Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra confirmed that a mandatory count of VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency was conducted on November 23, the day of vote counting.
Verification process
VVPAT slip count and EVM results match: Election officer
The verification process was conducted with 1,440 VVPAT units in 288 assembly constituencies and was tallied with the respective EVM control unit data. "There is no discrepancy found between VVPAT slip count and EVM Control unit count as per the reports received from the concerned District Election Officials (DEO). Due procedure laid by ECI has been followed," the Chief Election Officer said.
Boycott
Opposition parties boycott assembly session over EVM concerns
The opposition's apprehensions over the sanctity of the voting process prompted a boycott of the assembly's special session by parties such as Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. More than 20 opposition candidates who lost in these polls raised concerns over discrepancies between polled votes and declared results. Leaders like Aaditya Thackeray accused the Election Commission of allowing "misuse of EVMs" during the polls.
Criticism
Deputy CM defends EVMs, criticizes opposition's allegations
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde defended the EVMs and slammed the opposition's allegations. He urged everyone to respect the electoral mandate and added, "The opposition should welcome the clear majority given by the people of Maharashtra." Shinde also noted that opposition parties don't question EVMs in states where they win elections.
Response
Election Commissioner addresses criticism, praises India's resilience
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar responded to the criticisms at an NDTV event. He observed a rise in criticism trends and highlighted India's capacity to address problems peacefully through voting. "What surprises me, positively, is the resilience of the Indian voter... this country can resolve all its issues peacefully through the ballot, not the bullet... This is the biggest satisfaction," Kumar said.