By-polls in Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh rescheduled to Nov 20
The adjustment in by-poll dates aims to ensure higher participation and smoother conduct of the polls across the three states, the ECI said.
The opposition parties would likely be holding a joint meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Friday to discuss their future course of action on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) tampering issue, especially with the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2019 and three state elections.
According to the sources, the meeting is very much likely to happen after the budget would be presented.
It is learned that the Congress has taken the lead to raise the EVM issue and has asked the opposition leaders to come together for the Friday meeting to discuss a joint strategy on the issue of EVMs, as some parties have questioned the efficacy of EVMs and demanded that the Election Commission revert to the ballot paper.
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A few opposition parties have put forward the argument that even the most developed countries have shunned the EVMs and have reverted to the ballot paper system following complaints of EVM malfunctioning.
The Congress, while supporting the demand for reverting to the ballot paper system, has maintained that since there is very less time left for the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission should ensure counting of paper trail in 50 per cent booths across the country to ensure that there is no doubt in the minds of the voters.
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A few days back, a US-based man, identified as Syed Shuja, addressed a press conference in London via Skype wherein he arranged an “EVM hackathon” to “prove” that the EVMs can be hacked following which there was a brouhaha in the Indian political circle while the Election Commission of India (ECI) vehemently denied the claims of any possibility of tampering with the EVMs.
Chief Election Commissioner of India Sunil Arora rubbished the claims of Syed Shuja, saying that there was no going back to the era of ballot papers, stressing that EVMs will be used for the upcoming elections.
“No way that we are going back to ballot papers. We are sticking with EVMs for the elections. EVM not a football, can’t tamper with them,” he said.
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