No mismatch found in votes polled, VVPAT count in Maharashtra: ECI
Mumbai, Dec 10: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday said no mismatch was found between the votes polled and corresponding tally of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips in random counting in the last month's Maharashtra assembly elections.
The mandatory counting of VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations in each assembly constituency was completed successfully, the ECI said in a statement.
Opposition parties in the state had questioned the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition won a landslide victory in the November 20 elections.
The counting of VVPAT slips aims to verify the tally of votes recorded EVMs against the corresponding VVPAT slips, the ECI said, adding that representatives of candidates were present throughout the process.
In Maharashtra's 288 assembly constituencies, officials verified a total of 1,440 VVPAT machines. Representatives of candidates and EC observers randomly selected polling stations, the statement said.
"There was no discrepancy found between the candidate-wise vote counts recorded in EVMs and the corresponding counts from the VVPAT slips," the EC stated.
Special enclosures were established at each counting centre and entire process was recorded on CCTV, the footage of which has been preserved, it further said.
The counting of VVPAT slips from five polling stations in every constituency is mandatory under the Commission's guidelines. The counting process is considered incomplete and no winner can be declared until this verification is concluded, the poll body said.
The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the elections.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Biker injured, leopard dies in road accident near forest area in Shivamogga
Shivamogga: A leopard was killed after being hit by a motorcycle near Mandagadde in Thirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district.
According to reports, the biker was travelling from Shivamogga towards Thirthahalli when the leopard suddenly came onto the road from a nearby forest area near Mandagadde. The rider is said to have lost control of the bike and crashed into the animal.
The leopard suffered severe injuries in the impact and died on the spot. The biker also fell onto the road along with the motorcycle and sustained serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in Shivamogga for further treatment.
After receiving information about the incident, forest department officials, including Gajanur RFO Vinay Kumar, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.
