EVM with VVPAT.
Credit: DH Photo/SK Dinesh
Maharashtra is set to go to polls on November 20, with the results to be declared on November 23. The state will vote in a single phase for the upcoming assembly elections that will see the two massive alliances of Maha Yuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi go head-to-head.
With that in mind, here's a look at what happens on the counting day.
What happens on counting day?
On the day of counting the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are brought out of the strong room in presence of the Election Commission (EC) Special Observers and returning officers along with candidates or their representatives. This entire process is filmed.
The EVMs' control units are then brought to counting tables under CCTV surveillance. The unique ID number of each CU and the signed seal are verified and shown to the polling agent of the candidates before they are taken out.
Then, a button on the unit is pressed and it displays the vote each candidate secured, next to their names, on the EVM. These numbers get recorded in the results sheet.
The Returning Officer in the presence of the General Observer and party candidates or their representatives conducts a 'draw of lots' to randomly select a Voter-verified paper audit trail(VVPAT) machine for counting paper slips.
The counting takes place inside a secure VVPAT counting booth which has a camera inside the counting hall and only occurs after the last round of counting EVM votes in a constituency.
If there is a mismatch between the VVPAT and EVM numbers then paper slips are recounted. If the discrepancy persists, the VVPAT number takes precedence over the EVM numbers and result sheets are amended to reflect the same. Opposition parties can call for a count of all VVPAT machines in a constituency in case of such occurrences.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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