Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed his resentment over non-functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at several polling booths. He asked the Election Commission to review its stand on the EVMs. “We have long been saying that there is scope for technical problems and manipulation in EVMs. Even technologically advanced countries are using ballot papers,” said Chandrababu.
Chandrababu went on to say that 22 political parties in the country demanded that at least the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips be counted. He did not agree with the Election Commission that counting of all VVPAT slips will take six days. The Supreme Court on Monday directed the EC to increase the random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly segment, from one at present.
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The court, however, did not agree to the demand by the parties for matching at least 50 percent of VVPAT slips with EVMs. Chandrababu said they were planning to file a review petition for counting of at least 25 per cent of VVPAT slips.
