Election 2019: EVM Glitches Reported In Several Areas In Delhi
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh EVM said problems in EVMs were reported from Chandni Chowk and West Delhi.
Complaints about malfunctioning electronic voting machines poured in from several places in the national capital where voting is underway.
Adarsh Gupta, a resident of Matia Mahal area, claimed that at polling booths 84, 85 and 86, electronic voting machines were not working in the morning.
Aam Aadmi Party's Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti alleged that EVMs at booths 116, 117 and 122 were not functioning.
"EVM in booth 132, Hauzrani is showing 50 votes without anyone casting any vote in the machine and EVMs at booths 116,117, 122 in Malviya nagar not functioning," Bharti tweeted.
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said over 5 percent EVMs were replaced in the morning, adding that problems in EVMs were reported from Chandni Chowk and West Delhi.
A senior police official, posted at Nirman Bhawan polling booth, said there was a complaint about EVM malfunctioning which was replaced with another one.
"There was a connection error between control unit and ballot unit at Nirman Bhawan. That is why control unit, ballot unit and VVPAT of EVM had to be replaced," said an official of the poll body. An EVM consists of a ballot unit, a control unit and a VVPAT.
At a press conference on Friday, Delhi CEO Singh said that 25,146 ballot units, 13,819 control units and 13,819 VVPATs were to be used for the polls. The voter-verified paper audit trail system enables an EVM to record each vote cast by generating a slip.
Mudit Agarwal, son of Congress's Chandni Chowk candidate JP Agarwal, alleged EVMs malfunctioned at a few booths in Matia Mahal and Ballimaran assembly segments.
According to a police official, they received information about an EVM not working at Begum Pur in Rohini but the issue was addressed. AAP's Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh alleged that EVMs at polling booth number 27 were not working in the morning.
"At Prithivi Park in Tilak Nagar assembly segment, EVMs had not been working since 7 a.m. at polling booth 27. It is the area where AAP has a substantial vote bank," Jarnail Singh said.
He said the Election Commission claimed that faulty EVMs are changed within 10 minutes, but at ground level it's a different story. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said voters were unable to find if their votes were actually recorded by the machines in Najafgarh constituency.
"Voters unable to find their votes at polling booths. It is true that on large scale votes have been deleted. All these are residents of Jai Vihar I, Najafgarh," he tweeted.
Over 1.43 crore people in Delhi are eligible to vote in this election which will decide the fate of 164 candidates, of which 18 are women. There are 43 independent candidates.