Expressing displeasure over the obstruction to voting across the State caused by defective Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded that re-polling should be held at such locations.
He estimated that 30% of the EVMs were not functioning and called upon the Election Commission of India (ECI) to swing into action immediately, saying that the people were worried.
In a communication to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, Mr. Naidu stated three hours of polling time was wasted by faulty EVMs and there were complaints that votes cast for TDP were going to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
He said TDP has time and again stated that the EVMs were prone to tampering, and the ECI should revert to the paper ballot system to ensure smooth conduct of polls but its plea has gone ignored. He hoped that the ECI would at least now realise the problem with those machines.
The concern raised by Mr. Naidu comes in the wake of inordinate delay in the commencement of polling at several booths due to defective EVMs. There are reports that officials are grappling to repair such EVMs three hours after the polling was supposed to begin.