Election Commission gets EVMs for LS polls
New Delhi, Nov 1: The two public sector undertakings tasked with manufacturing the latest M3 type electronic voting machines to be used in next year's Lok Sabha elections have delivered the lot comprising nearly 22.3 lakh ballot units and 16.3 lakh control units to the Election Commission, a senior EC official said.
Around 22.3 lakh ballot units, 16.3 lakh control units and nearly 17.3 lakh VVPATs or paper trail machines will be used for the 2019 LS polls. The number of machines includes the buffer stock for training as well as replacements.
These machines would be deployed at the nearly 10.6 lakh polling stations across India in the next parliamentary elections.
The Bharat Electronics Ltd and the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd were mandated to deliver these machines to the poll panel by September 30 "and now the delivery has been completed," the official said.
The M2 or mark 2 type EVMs (2006-10) can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates including NOTA. There is provision for 16 candidates in a balloting unit. If the total number of candidates exceeds 16, more balloting units can be attached up to a maximum of 64 candidates by connecting four balloting units.
However, in case of M3 EVMs, which came after 2013, a maximum of 384 candidates including NOTA can be catered to by connecting 24 balloting units.
During simultaneous elections, two separate sets of EVMs are required, one for the parliamentary constituency and the other for legislative assembly constituency.
According to a September 26 release of the EC, the poll panel has estimated 171 per cent ballot units, 125 per cent control units and 135 per cent paper trail machines requirement for the Lok Sabha polls.
In case of an error with the VVPAT, the machine is replaced with a reserve. But in case a ballot unit or control unit malfunctions, the entire set of ballot unit, control unit and VVPAT is replaced.
Till date, EVMs have been used in 113 Assembly elections and three Lok Sabha elections since 2000.
Amid demands by some opposition parties to go back to ballot papers, the Commission has maintained that use of EVMs has ended the days of booth capturing and the delays and errors in counting of ballot papers.
At a recent all-party meeting, several parties had questioned the reliability of voting machines, alleging that they could be tampered with.
Seventeen opposition parties have come together to make a fresh demand that voters in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections exercise their franchise by stamping the ballot paper, not pressing the button on EVMs.
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Vice President Radhakrishnan meets Sri Lankan President Dissanayake
Colombo (PTI): Vice President C P Radhakrishnan met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake here on Sunday and held discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project, and fishermen issues between the two South Asian neighbours.
Radhakrishnan, who arrived here earlier in the day on a two-day visit, also discussed with Dissanayake the ongoing Indian project implementation in Sri Lanka with emphasis on the USD 450 million Cyclone Ditwah aid offered by India.
Accompanied by a 49-member delegation, the vice president was received at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and several other dignitaries.
Radhakrishnan’s visit is the first ever by an Indian vice president to Sri Lanka, officials said.
Radhakrishnan laid emphasis on India’s 'Neighbourhood First' policy and developmental bilateral cooperation, officials said.
“Both leaders held productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted India–Sri Lanka ties, rooted in shared history, strong civilizational and people-to-people linkages,” according to a social media post by Radhakrishnan.
They held wide-ranging discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project and projects being implemented under the USD 450 million package for areas affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, including reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the most affected regions of the Indian-origin Tamil community, it added.
The two sides also discussed addressing fishermen issues in a humanitarian manner, considering the livelihoods of fishing communities on both sides.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka.
The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.
Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters.
Later in the day, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
A number of memoranda of understanding between the two countries are also scheduled to be exchanged during the visit, a Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry release said.
This visit, which follows recent high-level engagements between the two countries, is expected to further strengthen the millennia-old civilisational and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, an official statement said.
