Congress and TDP demand re-introduction of ballot papers in LS polls

HYDERABAD: Reiterating their reservations on reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), leaders from Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and Telangana unit of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) demanded re-introduction of ballot papers in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

At TPCC’s dharna staged against alleged failures of Election Commission, on Thursday here, leaders from the different political parties took turns to make case for re-introduction of ballot papers, explained why they lost confidence in EVMs and how their pleas to count VVPAT slips were not entertained.

TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that off the 119 Assembly segments not even in one constituency 100 per cent of VVPAT slips were counted. The TPCC chief said that by 12 pm on the counting day of December 11, he started to observe that there was difference between their expectations and the way results were flowing, and he sent messages to all contestants from the party to demand VVPAT slips counting.  

He said that in Kodad, Dharmapuri, Ibrahimpatnam and Thungathurthy constituencies, difference of votes between winner and the runner-up is only a few hundreds.Uttam Kumar Reddy said that his request for counting of VVPAT slips in constituencies where margin of victory was only a few hundreds, was not acted by the election officials. “Ballot papers have to be introduced in the upcoming elections,” Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded.

Newly-elected leader of  Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that when he cast vote in the recent Assembly elections, it took some time for EVM machine to emit sound indicating the vote is registered. By the time he enquired reason for the issue, VVPAT slip too dropped in the box and he left the polling station wondering to which party he had cast his vote.

“Ballot papers have to be introduced to instill confidence in voters,” he said.TDP Telangana unit president L Ramana also made the same demand. President of Telangana Jana Samithi M Kodandaram, TPCC Election Commission Coordination Committee chairman Marri Shashidhar Reddy, Chadha Venkat Reddy from Communist Party of India (CPI) and others participated in the dharna.