New Delhi. After the recently concluded assembly elections in Maharashtra, no flaw has been found in the matching of EVM and VVPAT slips. The Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra informed in a tweet that VVPAT slips of randomly selected polling stations in 288 assembly constituencies of the state were matched with the votes recorded in EVMs. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, 5 VVPAT slips were selected in each assembly constituency, which were counted and compared with the votes recorded in the EVM control unit. This analysis of a total of 1440 VVPAT slips was done with complete transparency. The Election Commission has clarified that no mismatch was registered in these.
Allegations of irregularities rejected
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Congress, had alleged EVM manipulation in the electoral process. The Election Commission ordered an independent and impartial investigation into these allegations. The Commission said that no discrepancy has been found in the VVPAT data in Maharashtra, thereby proving the allegations of the opposition parties baseless.
#MaharashtraAssemblyElections Election Commission on November 23, 2024, counted five VVPAT machines of all 288 assembly constituencies of Maharashtra to match it with the number of EVMs.
– There was no mismatch found in any of the VVPAT slips matching with their concerned EVM… pic.twitter.com/4BR4zcxhdJ
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 10, 2024
100% accuracy found in Nanded also
After the election defeat, Congress had complained about EVM malfunction in Nanded district. In response, the district administration matched the slips of 75 VVPAT machines and the votes recorded in EVMs in Nanded. Polling stations were selected through a lottery system, with representatives of the candidates and election observers also present. District Collector Abhijeet Raut said that 100% accuracy has been found in this matching done for both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Maharashtra Assembly Election Vote Counting: A total of 1440 VVPATs from all 288 constituencies are mandatory. 23.11.2024 Roji complete, no difference was found in the number of candidate slips in EVM and the number of slip slips in VVPAT machine.@ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/cqUjhGoEEP
— ChiefElectoralOffice (@CEO_Maharashtra) December 10, 2024
Election Commission statement
The Election Commission said that the use of EVMs and VVPATs ensures the credibility and transparency of the Indian election system. The commission also informed that all protocols and security measures were followed during the election process. Although after the report of the Commission, the leaders of Mahavikas Aghadi have accepted it, but they continue to raise questions on the EVM system. He says that more transparency should be ensured to avoid such complaints in future.
Effort to increase the confidence of the general public
It is clear from this step of the Election Commission that the techniques and procedures are being completely followed to keep the democratic process safe and fair in the country. The Commission has also requested political parties and the public to maintain faith in the electoral process.