Strong rooms, unsealed rooms should not be opened under any circumstance: EC
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The EC on Tuesday issued clear directions to all district election officers and returning officers in Kerala not to open any strong rooms or unsealed rooms in counting centres under any circumstances before the day of counting.
The direction was issued by Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar following reports that a strong room storing EVMs in the Perambra constituency in Kozhikode was opened on Monday, and that there were reported plans to open another in the Nenmara constituency in Palakkad.
“It has been reiterated that under no circumstances shall any strong rooms or unsealed rooms be opened or accessed for the purpose of preparing Index Cards or verifying data on the ENCORE portal.
“All concerned officers have been directed to ensure strict compliance with these instructions to safeguard the integrity, transparency, and security of the electoral process,” a statement issued by Kelkar’s office said.
Responding to a TV channel’s query on the matter, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that, according to election laws and rules, no one is supposed to go near strong rooms.
“So, why was the material room kept close to the strong room? There is something suspicious about it. The party and the UDF are looking into the matter very seriously. There has to be a proper probe into the matter,” he contended.
“Overall, it appears that steps are being taken by the state and central governments to sabotage the people’s verdict. That is what we understand from these incidents,” he claimed.
Later in the day, Palakkad District Collector Madhavikutty M S, in a statement, termed reports that the strong room containing electronic voting machines used in the Nenmara constituency had been opened as incorrect.
The collector said the returning officer had informed representatives of all candidates that a room where election documents were kept would be opened to prepare ENCORE data before the counting of votes.
This room was in the same building as the strong room, and representatives of the candidates and videography teams were present at the centre in the morning, the statement said.
However, in view of the spread of false news that the strong room had been opened, the collector, as instructed by the chief electoral officer, directed the RO not to open the room containing election documents, it said.
The collector also instructed all returning officers not to open any rooms at counting centres where EVMs are kept before counting begins, without instructions from the CEO.
On Monday, the Kozhikode district administration had clarified that no strong room was opened.
Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who is also the district election officer, had said that an unsealed “material room” at JDT Islam Higher Secondary School was opened in the presence of candidates’ agents to verify and update polling records.
He said in a statement that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPATs were securely stored in a sealed strong room on the first floor of the building under the supervision of central observers and candidates’ agents, and that the strong room had not been opened.
However, leaders of the Congress and the party-led UDF alleged that the incident amounted to a violation of election rules.
The results of the April 9 Assembly polls in 140 constituencies in the state will be declared on May 4.
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DC beat PBKS by three wickets, keep playoff hopes alive
Dharamsala (PTI): Half-centuries from skipper Axar Patel and David Miller powered Delhi Capitals to a thrilling three-wicket win over Punjab Kings and kept their slim playoff hopes alive in the Indian Premier League here on Monday.
Sent in to bat, Priyansh Arya (56 off 33) and Prabhsimran Singh (18) shared 78 runs off 41 balls for the opening wicket for PBKS.
After their departure, Shreyas Iyer (59 not out off 36 balls) and Cooper Connolly (38 off 27) took responsibility to carry the innings forward as PBKS posted 210 for five.
In reply, DC slipped to 74 for four but Axar (56) and Miller (51) resurrected the chase, while Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari completed the task, scoring 216 for seven in 19 overs.
Mitchell Starc (2/57) and Madhav (2/40) picked up two wickets each for DC.
For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh (2/21), Ben Dwarshuis (1/51) and Marcus Stoinis (1/44) were among the wicket-takers.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 210 for 5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 59 not out, Priyansh Arya 56; Madhav Tiawai 2/40).
Delhi Capitals: 219 for 7 in 19 overs (Axar Patel 56, David Miller 51; Arshdeep Singh 2/21)
