Amid the Opposition's allegations regarding Electronic Voting Machines after the Maharashtra polls in which the ruling Mahayuti alliance registered a landslide victory.
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said there was no discrepancy found between VVPAT slip count and EVM control unit count in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls.
As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, the issue is listed before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta “for directions” on April 24.
In its reply to Ramesh’s letter, the poll panel categorically said it has no new assertions or reasonable and legitimate doubts which require further clarifications.
The state government and the state election commission (SEC) has policy-wise decided to use VVPAT but it depends whether the poll body will have an adequate supply of machines before the election.
The Kannur constituency, where sitting MP PK Sreemathy (CPI-M-LDF), K Surendran (Cong-UDF) and CK Padmanabhan (BJP-NDA) are trying their luck, is witnessing brisk polling since the morning.
The TDP chief also said he would file a review petition in the Supreme Court over its order on counting of VVPAT slips.
Faith in the EVMs, or a lack of it, is not the sole reason why the Election Commission has come under a cloud.
The poll body had last Friday refused to entertain the opposition's request for 50 per cent sample-matching of the EVMs with the corresponding VVPATs.
"The political parties should understand that prolonged debate on EVMs and VVPATs and questioning the integrity of the EC would send a negative impression of India’s image worldwide."
