Kottayam: Glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were widely reported from different parts of Kerala during the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday even as the District Election Officers denied such a problem existed.
Some voters and party activists in Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha constituencies alleged that the votes cast for the Congress candidates were getting registered in favour of the BJP contestants.
In Thiruvananthapuram, activists of both the United Democratic Front (UDF) and rival Left Democratic Front (LDF) alleged that votes cast in favour of the Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor were getting registered against the BJP candidate Kummanan Rajasekharan. They cited the issue observed in an EVM at the No 151 booth at Chowara in Thiruvananthapuram.
Voting in the booth however went on without interruption.
However, Thiruvananthapuram district collector K Vasuki, who is also the District Election Officer, denied reports of malfunctioning EVMs. On her Facebook page, she stated 'it is technically impossible that votes would get cast in favour of one party when votes are cast for another on the EVM.'
She asserted that the issue was however being examined and termed the reports as fake news.
Alappuzha collector S Suhas also clarified that an EVM at polling booth number 88 in Cherthala was replaced after a 'button press error' was found during the mock poll and denied allegations that votes were getting registered to BJP.
Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena also said that some EVM glitches were expected due to heavy rains and that polling in the state was being carried out in an efficient manner.
