23 October,2009 07:07 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga
Confusion over cancelled number on voting machine prompts election officials in Chembur to use it last for counting
On a day when everything was at stake for MLA aspirants, a cancelled number on an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) added to the drama at the RCF Colony booth in Chembur. EVM number 82 had to be kept aside and counting was stopped for an hour. There were 206 EVMs at the centre.
Mismatched
At 8 am yesterday, candidates and party workers noticed that a number on the EVM was cancelled and another figure was written instead. The numbers signify the number of votes cast and are also recorded manually in a register.
BJP candidate Anil Wadhwa said, "It means the numbers did not match. So, the election officers erased it and matched it with the number in the register. There was a similar problem with another EVM, which had zero written on it." However, the election officer on duty, explained, "The earlier number was written by mistake and so, we made a correction. Since party workers created a scene, we kept the EVM inside and used it last to count votes."
Adding to the confusion, Republican Party of India's Deepak Nikhalje demanded re-counting of votes after he secured the fourth position. Nikhalje got 21,467 votes to Congress candidate Chandrakant Handores 47,430. Deputy Commissioner of Police Dilip Sawant said, "We took some party workers from Nikhalje's party after the election duty officer complained. But we had to leave them. We could not take any action, as it is the duty of the election commission."
'Victory machines'
BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said manipulation of EVMs resulted in the Congress-NCP's victory in the Assembly polls. "The EVMs have become Electronic Victory Machines for the Congress. In Maharashtra, we received reports that 600 votes were cast in an hour in 73 constituencies. Similarly, in Haryana, 300 votes were cast in an hour in 47 seats," said Naqvi.
1,200 The average number of votes that are registered in an EVM
3,000 The maximum number of votes that can be recorded in an EVM
