Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for petitioners, told the bench that the apex court had increased the random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly segment and they are now seeking that it should be increased to 25 per cent at least.
The Election Commission has decided to replace 9,30,430 EVMs purchased before 2006 as the older machines are nearing their 15-year life cycle.
Whatever happens with this election, there is going to have to be a serious rethink of how the ECI, and elections, are run in India. There can't even be the whiff of impropriety. In a country that believes in democracy, EVM rigging isn't stealing an election, it's stealing the soul of a nation, says Cleo Paskal.
In the first such initiative, the Bharatiya Janata Party has invited the ruling and Opposition parties from around the world to witness the Lok Sabha elections in India first-hand.
To pass that time, some candidates preferred to stay with the party workers, others decided to take some rest after the heat and dust of electioneering, while some others took timeout to meet parents before the results were announced.
Dismissing Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal's apprehensions that electronic voting machines could be rigged to favour BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission on Wednesday said the machines are "non-tamperable".
The CEC said when people lose elections, they blame their defeat on EVMs, but when they win they don't do so.
The challenge would be held in the first week of May and could continue for ten days.
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.
Voting is being held in the politically sensitive Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya and Nagaland Lok Sabha seats.
An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19.
The meeting at SP headquarters was attended by Akhilesh, his uncle Shivpal Yadav, senior leader Azam Khan and party office bearers.
Mann said there was no use in finding fault with EVMs and the party should introspect on the reasons behind its defeat.
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
Till date, 107 elections to states and three parliamentary polls have been smoothly conducted using the EVMs.
The video in this regard was shared by Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on their social media accounts.
The Election Commission of India has set up more than 200 polling stations within housing societies in the urban areas of Uttar Pradesh to increase the voter turnout in the politically crucial state.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
The Patidar leader also urged the Congress to raise the issue of EVM tampering.
To clear doubts over EVMs, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi will soon call all-party meet.
In a first, BJP crossed the 10 per cent vote share-mark in Tamil Nadu and has so far registered a share of 10.21 per cent, though it could not emerge in lead positions anywhere.
The Election Commission refuses to tell how many people have voted in each phase.
It would be far more sensible for AAP to build on what they have achieved than to destroy what credibility they have by floating wild conspiracy theories, says Sankrant Sanu.
The poll watchdog also said that as per laws related to elections, after the declaration of results, the only option available to verify the data of votes cast was filing an election petition before the high court concerned.
Rejecting the contention of political parties like Bharatiya Janata Party, AIADMK and CPI(M) that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with during the Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla today said no one was able to prove it.
The Election Commission sought a detailed report from the district poll authorities in Bhind, where a bypoll is due on April 9.
'The aged with retina and finger print issues are not getting access to pension and ration.' 'If all becomes digital -- what'll happen to the poor?'
Till 5 pm, Agra recorded 56.61 per cent polling, Aligarh 57.25 per cent, Baghpat 61.35 per cent, Bulandshahr 60,52 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 54.77 per cent, Ghaziabad 54.77 per cent, Hapur 60.50 per cent, Mathura 58.51 per cent, Meerut 58.52 cent, Muzaffarnagar 62.14 per cent and Shamli 61.78 per cent, an EC report said.
All 13 candidates in the fray in Indore against Lalwani, who won by a potentially record margin votes, lost their security deposit, indicating they were clearly rejected by the voters. If a candidate gets fewer than one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in a constituency, his/her security deposit is seized by the EC.
The date of the proposed challenge, an official said, would be decided after the all-party meeting.
It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening.
The party would consider aligning with any party after assessing the post-poll situation, she said.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday demanded a probe into the charges made by the self-proclaimed US-based cyber expert, terming them as "very serious" as they concern the survival of democracy in India.
Rabi Ranjan Chattopadhyay, Trinamool Congress candidate from Burdwan South Assembly seat alleged that four Electronic Voting Machines of the constituency are missing on Wednesday.
'The Congress wants to distort the very fabric of Indian society because they are obsessed with vote bank politics.'
The EC has time and again rubbished allegations that EVMs can be programmed to favour any particular party.
The top court issued notice to the Election Commission on the PIL filed by author, activist and motivational speaker Shiv Khera.
Dharashiv, earlier Osmanabad, is among the eight districts that comprise the state's Marathwada region, where activist Manoj Jarange has led an agitation demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Right to Information activist Anjali Bhardwaj said the VVPAT system should be re-calibrated to be fully voter-verifiable.
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