VVPAT used in demo not tampered with: EC

An inquiry by the Election Commission has found that the VVPAT put on demonstration before mediapersons at Bhind in Madhya Pradesh recently was not tampered with.

The EC’s special inquiry team, led by Chief Electoral Officer of Andhra Pradesh Bhanwar Lal, concluded that the printouts from the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), during the demonstration on March 31, had not displayed ‘Lotus’, the symbol of the BJP, when the buttons against other party candidates were pressed.

The votes registered on the EVMs linked with the VVPATs leave paper trails, which may be later counted, in case a candidate or a political party challenges the numbers delivered electronically.

Reports in local newspapers said the VVPAT printouts only showed votes in favour of Satyadev Pachauri of the BJP, even when buttons against other party candidates were pressed. Pachauri is not among the candidates contesting the by-elections in Madhya Pradesh’s Ater on Sunday.

The EC inquiry revealed that he was among the BJP candidates in the recent Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. He had won the elections from Govinda Nagar constituency in Kanpur. The EC inquiry said the VVPAT device, used during the demonstration, had been brought from Uttar Pradesh for polling in Ater.