Bengaluru, Mar 15: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday demanded that all Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) should be counted, during the counting of votes.

He was responding to a question about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent statement that people are demanding that the upcoming elections be held using ballot papers and not EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines).

"This has been our demand since the beginning... You count VVPAT hundred per cent, that is our demand," Kharge told reporters here. "Only a few VVPATs, you are counting. We are demanding that all the VVPAT should be counted. It will be very easy to know. It is not going to cost much."

ALSO READ: Electoral bonds: Freeze BJP bank accounts, conduct special investigation, says Kharge

VVPAT is an independent system attached with the EVMs that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. When a vote is cast, a slip is printed containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate and remains exposed through a transparent window for seven seconds.

Thereafter, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in the sealed drop box of the VVPAT.

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New Delhi (PTI): The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 32.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 1.3 notches below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 20.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 1.3 notches below the average for the season, while the relative humidity stood at 46 per cent at 5.30 pm, the IMD said.

The weather department has forecast a partly cloudy sky for Monday with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 34 and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The air quality remained 'moderate' at 4 pm, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 134, a slight drop from Saturday’s 137, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.