VVPAT check done but Oppn ups ante on EVMs

MUMBAI: Amid large-scale protests by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which has alleged manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the recent assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has said the mandatory VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slip count in five randomly selected polling stations in each assembly constituency had been conducted on November 23, and the outcome matched the results delivered by the EVMs.

- Yogesh Naik

The ECI said it was mandatory for the agency to conduct VVPAT verification, and this was done during the counting procedure, in front of the counting observer or representatives of candidates. It said a slip count was taken for 1,440 VVPAT units in the 288 assembly constituencies in the state, and was tallied with control unit data of the EVMs. The ECI underlined that it found no discrepancy in reports received from the district election officers concerned, according to the office of the state chief electoral officer.