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.
In the backdrop of allegations by certain political parties that the Electronic Voting Machines could be hacked, the Election Commission on Thursday said EVMs were and are tamper proof.
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 party would consider aligning with any party after assessing the post-poll situation, she said.
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 CM's swipe was aimed not just at Kejriwal but also at the SP and BSP who have been raising questions about the EVMs.
Chidambaram told SC that to assure accuracy in the voting process, paper trail is needed as there were chances of tampering with EVMs.
The villagers stopped a section officer's vehicle which was carrying reserved EVMs for the assembly elections and damaged two control and ballot units each and three VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail), the EC said in a statement.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded candidates in all 200 constituencies while the Congress has fielded 199 candidates.
The Election Commission refuses to tell how many people have voted in each phase.
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.
Four persons, including two rag-pickers, were arrested in connection with theft of six Electronic Voting Machines in Vijayawada, which were recovered, police said on Monday.
'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?'
Political parties on Monday said that the Election Commission should take steps to enhance the confidence of people on use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in polls in view of apprehensions that they could be tampered with.
The Election Commission today said that Electronic Voting Machines cannot be tampered with, as alleged by some political parties, including the main Opposition party in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, and its ally, PMK.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said his party would pull off a spectacular victory in the state assembly elections, but evaded a direct reply to a question whether he would be the chief minister for the fifth time, as he just said 'Bharatiya Janata Party Zindabad'.
Polling in Madhya Pradesh was marred by complaints of faulty EVMs and voter verifiable paper audit trail machines.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission to introduce in a phased manner the paper trail in EVMs in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saying "it is an indispensable requirement of free, fair and transparent" polls which will restore confidence of the voters.
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.
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 Congress wants to distort the very fabric of Indian society because they are obsessed with vote bank politics.'
Former Union law and commerce minister Subramaniam Swamy has written a letter to the Election Commission, demanding a paper trail to 'substantiate and verify the election results' obtained from Electronic Voting Machines.In his letter, Swamy has argued that it is possible to manipulate the EVMs, by planting a software programme that could produce an election result in favour of a particular candidate.
The top court issued notice to the Election Commission on the PIL filed by author, activist and motivational speaker Shiv Khera.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of targetting her for raising a voice against alleged electronic voting machines tampering and said she was not averse to shaking hands with other parties in her fight against the saffron party on the issue.
The party raised concern over the security of Electronic Voting Machines inside strong rooms and their handling during the counting process in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the alleged deletion of voters in Uttar Pradesh.
The government must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
In a collaborative study, a team of Indian and international experts recently revealed that the electronic voting machines used in Indian elections are vulnerable to fraud. Excerpts from their report.
In the tribal village of Edamalakkudy, nestled deep within this hill district's lush forests, lives 92-year-old Sivalingam. Despite his age and being bedridden, Sivalingam's determination to vote remains strong.
The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday came out with the constituency-wise data on the number of votes cast in the first five phases of the Lok Sabha polls and said there is a pattern in creating false narratives and mischievous designs to vitiate the electoral process.
Alex Halderman and Rop Gonggrijp, two of the three scientists who had exposed the flaws in the Election Commission's EVMs, flew in to New Delhi around 2 am on Monday and were detained immediately. After a harrowing wait for hours, the duo was let off in the evening.
"The journey from Hayuliang to Malogam takes a full day on foot," Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu told PTI.
The Congress said it does not want to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRPs.
Among the fatalities recorded on Friday, the maximum 17 were from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Bihar, five from Odisha and four from Jharkhand, where officials said more than 1,300 people are hospitalised with heatstroke conditions.
The state police in poll-bound Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh will be kept away from guarding the strong rooms where the Electronic Voting Machines will be stored after polling.
The Election Commission is working on a new design of Electronic Voting Machines, which will accommodate more than the present maximum limit of 64 candidates.
Meet IAF Veteran Bhopinder Singh Saini from the Viro ke Vir Indian Party.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi accused the prime minister of twisting his words and said he was speaking about the power of which Modi was wearing the mask.
She also said that the BJP will not be able to maintain law and order in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which have claimed that EVMs can be tampered with, will make a presentation before the Election Commission to prove their contention.
The polling for 230 seats for Madhya Pradesh and 70 seats in the second phase of Chhattisgarh will be held on Friday, November 17, 2023.
