'Test vote' will be carried out on voters' demand, says DC

Deputy Commissioner, also District Election Officer, D Randeep, on Saturday, said that the ‘test vote’ will be carried out if the ballot slip fails to match the choice of vote between Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), when verified.

Addressing reporters at the DC’s office, here, he said, VVPAT units, along with EVMs will be used in the bypolls to Nanjangud Assembly (Reserve) constituency, scheduled for April 9. He warned of registering FIR against the voter, if the test vote proved false to the voter’s argument.

Test voting will be carried out in front of the representatives of political parties in the booth only after obtaining permission from the Election Commission.

The DC said, for 236 polling booths in the constituency, the authorities have facilitated 355 VVPAT machines.

Awareness on VVPAT

In order to sensitise the voters to VVPAT, the authorities are organising awareness programmes for three days from April 5. The camp will be conducted at select Gram Panchayats, he said.

Explaining about VVPAT, the DC said, a printed slip, containing the name of the candidate and the symbol, to which the voter casts his vote, will be displayed for a short notice, so that the voter can verify. The slip will be visible for seven seconds, said the DC.

The DC said, all the political parties and independent candidates have obtained permission for campaigns. But, the party leaders are not following the time schedule for the campaign programmes and roadshows. Thus, many a time, workers of different political parties gather at a particular venue, which may lead to dispute or clash, he said.

Randeep said, the district administration has not issued any fresh permission to individuals or organisations to distribute prasadam during Srikanteshwara Jatra Mahotsava in Nanjangud, which will be held till April 11.