EC orders repolling in 49 booths of Bhandara-Gondiya constituency; voting on May 30

The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered the re-polling in 49 booths of Bhandara–Gondiya Lok Sabha seat after polling was disrupted due to faulty EVMs. The repolling will take place on May 30.

The Election Commission has also ordered the transfer of District Collector Abhimanyu Kale. He will be replaced by Kadambari Balkawade.

On Monday, polling for the Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra on Monday were marred by instances of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs).

The technical glitches prompted the Shiv Sena and the NCP to express reservations over the use of these machines, with former Union minister Praful Patel claiming that almost 25% of EVMs malfunctioned in the bypoll to Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said those in power were contesting elections with the "key and remote of EVMs in their hands".

A district official from Gondia said the polling percentage in Bhandara-Gondia is projected to be less than 40 per cent. It would be around midnight for the approximate polling figures to be available, he added.

Senior NCP leader Praful Patel sought to know why EVMs from Surat in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were used in the bypoll when similar machines were available in Maharashtra.

"EVMs were available in Maharashtra. What was the reason for bringing EVMs from Surat in Gujarat? We have expressed our doubts to the Election Commission," Patel told reporters in Gondia.

In New Delhi, sources in the poll panel said inapt handling of VVPAT machines by the ground staff, especially when the temperature is high, led to their heating, resulting in their malfunctioning, an explanation Patel termed as "shocking".