Election Commission Dismisses EVM Legitimacy Concerns Amid Opposition Protests in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Chief Election Officer dismissed opposition claims regarding electronic voting machine legitimacy, affirming no discrepancies between VVPAT slips and EVM numbers amid the state's assembly elections. Despite protests from the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, the Election Commission asserts compliance with procedural guidelines, countering allegations of large-scale voter list changes.

The Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra firmly rejected allegations from opposition parties regarding the legitimacy of electronic voting machines during the recent state assembly elections. These allegations were scrutinized in light of the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) process, where no discrepancies were found in the comparison between VVPAT slips and their corresponding EVM numbers, according to the CEO.

In compliance with the Election Commission of India's guidelines, the VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency were counted in front of election observers and candidates' representatives. Results indicated that all 1,440 VVPAT units tallied with the control units across 288 constituencies, eliminating concerns about mismatches, the CEO reported.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance raised legitimacy concerns following their electoral losses, urging scrutiny over the voter list's unexplained changes. Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi highlighted the addition of 47 lakh voter names and alleged significant deletions, demanding accountability and transparency from the Election Commission through comprehensive data analysis.

(With inputs from agencies.)