Maharashtra: EC Receives Inspection Requests for EVM and VVPAT Machines Across 95 Assembly Constituencies

The Election Commission has received a total of 104 applications for the inspection and verification of burnt memory and microcontrollers in EVM and VVPAT machines across 95 assembly constituencies in 31 districts of Maharashtra. These applications seek the inspection of EVM sets at 755 polling stations out of the state’s total 1,00,486 polling stations.

No applications for the inspection of burnt memory and microcontrollers have been received in five remaining districts — Sindhudurg, Nandurbar, Amravati, Wardha, and Gadchiroli.

The Election Commission of India has issued instructions regarding the inspection and verification process in letters sent on June 1, 2024, July 16, 2024, and July 30, 2024. During the inspection and verification of burnt memory and microcontrollers in EVM and VVPAT machines, the process from polling day is repeated in cases where no election petitions have been filed. In this process, the actual polling day data stored in the EVM and VVPAT sets is cleared, and a mock poll is conducted.

Finally, discrepancies between the data in Control Units (CU) and VVPAT machine slips are closely monitored to ensure the proper functioning of EVMs in the inspected sets.

As per the letter dated July 30, 2024, applicants can withdraw their request for inspection at any time up to three days before the scheduled examination date by the manufacturing company. In such cases, the fees submitted by the applicants will be refunded, the office of the chief electoral officer said.