New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) Saturday sought to assuage a range of concerns raised by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu over malfunctioning EVMs and VVPATs.
In a meeting with chief election commissioner Sunil Arora, Naidu spoke about issues including EVM malfunctioning, transfers of senior officers in Andhra Pradesh, counting of VVPATs, late polling in the state, and the need for poll adjournment in 618 polling stations.
Although an unconvinced Naidu told the media that the EC is working at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, here is how the EC sought to pacify his concerns:
Faulty EVMs: Arora told Naidu that there is no question of faulty EVMs having been sent to Andhra Pradesh since the replacement figures of EVMs in the state are not worse than those in other states, according to a source familiar with the exchange.
According to ECI data shared with Naidu, 1.75 per cent EVMs and 2.75 per cent VVPATs were replaced in AP during the first day of polling on 11 April. In National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled states like UP and Bihar, these figures are 0.54 per cent (EVM) and 2.57 per cent (VVPAT), and 0.57 per cent (EVMs) and 0.94 per cent (VVPAT) respectively.
Late polling: Naidu told the commission that the late night polling in the state, which is having simultaneous elections, was a reason for suspicion. But Arora is said to have assured Naidu that it was due to a jump in first time voters in the election, and not due to machine malfunctioning.
Poll adjournment: Alleging foul play in 618 polling booths in the state, Naidu demanded a poll adjournment in those stations. However, given that polling has already taken place in those stations, there is no possibility of adjournment, the commission said. Once polling reports are received by the EC, those 618 polling stations will be specifically examined, Arora assured Naidu.
Transfer of officers: Responding to Naidu’s complaints regarding the “arbitrary” transfers of officials in Andhra, Arora said the EC was fully convinced and aware of the circumstances under which each of them was transferred.
It was also pointed out in the meeting that none of the Returning Officers in the state’s 175 assembly constituencies or 25 parliamentary constituencies were transferred.
While the EC transferred a district electoral officer on the basis of his performance assessment, the director general, intelligence, A.B. Venkateswara Rao was transferred on the basis of “specific inputs” received by the commission against the officer.
Similarly, the chief secretary of Andhra, Anil Chandra Punetha was transferred due to “non-compliance of EC directions”, Arora told Naidu.
The appointment of K.K. Sharma — alleged to be a “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sympathizer” — as the police observer in Andhra Pradesh was also raised by Naidu.
However, Sharma was transferred out of West Bengal due to his own “personal choice”, and he had requested the EC to appoint him in “any state” other than West Bengal, the EC told Naidu.
Also read: Chandrababu Naidu says EC works at Narendra Modi’s behest after reports of EVM malfunction
Concerns over VVPATs: Expressing concerns regarding the thermal paper used for printing VVPAT slips, Naidu told Arora that the ink on the VVPAT slips disappears with time. The commission explained the matter to Naidu to “dispel the myth”.
Naidu also asked for increased verification of VVPAT slips with EVMs, to which Arora said that the steps to implement the SC order of increased verification are already underway.
The Andhra CM also sought a meeting of his government’s technical expert with the EC’s Technical Expert Committee and deputy election commissioner Sudeep Jain, who handles all matters relating to EVMs and VVPATs. The permission of the meeting was granted.
Also read: Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu protests outside poll panel’s office saying it’s tyrannical