Beyond EVMs
The recent fire in Kolkata that reportedly damaged thousands of Electronic Voting Machines has triggered predictable reactions.
The recent fire in Kolkata that reportedly damaged thousands of Electronic Voting Machines has triggered predictable reactions.
Garga Chatterjee, founder of Bangla Pokkho, was arrested by Kolkata Police on Tuesday on charges of allegedly spreading misinformation and making provocative social media posts regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the Assembly election process.
A team of polling personnel, equipped with essential materials, including an additional EVM, on Tuesday set out for one of the most remote polling stations under the Darjeeling Assembly constituency, located at an altitude of around 1,300 metres in the Himalayas.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Monday alleged that a strong room storing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at JDT College, Vellimadukunnu in Kozhikode, was opened without proper authority, leading to claims of election sabotage.
Elections for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the prestigious as well as cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will take place on Thursday, January 15, 2026, with results to be declared on Friday, January 16, 2026.
Ever since the elections concluded on 12 November peacefully in a single phase, Congress candidates and party workers have been raising doubts over the security of the EVMs.
The Supreme Court has decided to hear a plea on Monday, i.e., October 31 that sought direction to the Election Commission to remove symbols from ballot and EVMs and replace it with 'name, age, educational qualification and photograph' of candidates.
AAP also demanded the deployment of Central security agencies to protect all the buildings and permission to all contesting candidates to enter the buildings.
The SEC had altogether 20,500 EVMs of which 15,687 EVMs are in working condition. The SEC had recently conducted the polls in five municipal corporations and for that the SEC has used 10,620 EVMs and presently the poll panel has only 5,067 EVMs in their hand.
We have to maintain these EVMs and VVPAT machines and hearing is necessary as elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab are coming up,"
