Polling officials in Ahmedabad monitor the strong room, where the EVMs are stored, through CCTV footage ahead of counting for the Gujarat assembly election.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer M G Devasahayam, who was one of the signatories to the representation on the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) and the vote-counting process, had filed an application with the poll panel under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking details of the action taken on it.
According to the budget document, Rs 1,891.78 crore has been allocated for purchase of EVMs by the poll panel.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of deleted names from the voters list in Bihar, along with reasons for non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
Writing his views in a separate verdict while concurring with the opinion of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who was heading the bench, Justice Datta said the question of reverting to "paper ballot system", on facts and in the circumstances, does not and cannot arise.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has questioned the rationale behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance if mistakes like delays in finalising seat-sharing agreements and selecting candidates during the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections are repeated.
'In many districts, reports of 'herapheri' (tampering with) of EVMs is being received (by the party). On whose directives is this happening? Are officers being pressured from the Chief Minister's Office? EC please clarify this'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Udvav Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that anyone who spreads communal disharmony 'can't be a Hindu', while also affirming that the 'Hindutva' of his party is 'clean'.
As part of the investigation, EC officials visited Sudhakaran's residence on Thursday and recorded his statement. They said the matter would be submitted to the district collector for further actions.
Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar convened the meeting of leaders of opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which was attended by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) member Anil Desai and Bharat Rashtra Samithi member K Keshav Rao among others.
The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting.
The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea seeking a directive for 100% manual counting of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in addition to electronic counting. The court cited its previous rulings on the safety and security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and stated that the issue was not open for reconsideration. The plea argued for a modified VVPAT system where voters could verify printed ballots before leaving the polling station, and for 100% manual counting of VVPAT slips. The court upheld the Delhi High Court's decision dismissing the plea, referring to previous Supreme Court judgments on the matter.
The Election Commission had pegged the cost of procuring additional Electronic Voting Machines and paper-trail machines for holding synchronised Lok Sabha and assembly polls at nearly Rs 9,300 crore.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
'If machines (EVMs) are so reliable, if our electoral system is so reliable, then why has the Election Commission so far not even responded to an ADR plea to share data of 79 (Lok Sabha) constituencies where there's a (alleged) dispute?'
A multi-functional facility, equipped with 36 specially designed vaults for storage of Electronic Voting Machines and VVPATs, was on Friday inaugurated by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra in Delhi, officials said.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan predicts Nitish Kumar will be Bihar CM again after elections, criticizes opposition for targeting the Army and questioning Operation Sindoor.
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
Police registered a case against more than 200 persons from Markadwadi village and nearby areas in Maharashtra's Solapur for allegedly trying to conduct a 're-election' using ballot papers on Tuesday in an unauthorised manner, officials said.
Observing that it will not venture into the "policy issue", the top court dismissed the PIL which had also sought a direction to the poll panel to put in the public domain the audit report, if any, of EVM's source code.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to "steal" votes and said exit polls were meant to create a perception that the saffron party will emerge victorious in the Uttar Pradesh election.
In a viral video, Yerunkar alleged a mismatch in the polling data and EVM numbers. He received only two votes at the polling centre where four members of his family voted, he said, questioning the count.
After the Congress' poor performance in all five states where Assembly elections were held, party workers staged a protest outside the party's headquarters, alleging that democracy was being "murdered" through EVMs.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said a representation may be made by petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay to the poll panel or other authorities for consideration.
As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India-Marxist.
The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to consider listing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Constitutional validity of a provision of the Representation of People Act which had led to the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of ballot papers for polls in the country.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Election Commission's response on a PIL challenging its decision to increase the maximum number of voters from 1,200 to 1,500 at every polling station, saying no elector should be excluded.
While the RLD has fought the just-concluded polls in tie up with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, the office-bearers of the BKU, which was part of the anti-farm laws protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre, insists it is an 'apolitical' group.
As Delhi voters cast their ballots for the assembly polls on Wednesday, allegations of fake voting emerged in some parts of the national capital, including Seelampur and Kasturba Nagar.
"If the direction of satellites to Mars and Moon can be controlled from the earth, then why can't EVM be hacked," Udit Raj said in a tweet in Hindi. "If elections were held in America with EVMs, could Trump have lost," he asked.
The nodal officer for EVMs in Varanasi, a returning officer (RO) in Sonbhadra district and an additional election officer in Bareilly district have been pulled out from election duties, a day ahead of the counting of votes in UP.
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
'Maharashtra election result is a chamatkar of EVM.' 'There has been a sudden one percent rise in the voting percentage after the counting day.' 'This is what made the difference to the election results.' 'How did this vote percentage increase after counting day?
Babaria said he offered his resignation to the high command soon after the result of the Haryana assembly polls came out last week but no decision has been communicated to him over the matter.
"We had not contemplated that the alliance will fare so badly. People are not able to digest the poll results. It is against their sentiment and aspirations," Mayawati said on Thursday.
4 EVMs and a similar number of VVPATs were found at the house of a TMC leader in West Bengal's Howrah district, following which a poll official was suspended.
The Supreme Court observed on Monday a person making a "false statement" "must know the consequence" as it leads to stalling the electoral process.
