Sudhakar Badgujar, the defeated Uddhav Sena candidate and District Chief in the Nashik West Assembly Constituency, has raised concerns about irregularities in the handling of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems. He alleged that voting machines were interchanged at seven polling centers without informing the candidates or their representatives, creating suspicion about the process.
Badgujar lodged his complaint with the Election Commission and Nashik Collector Jalaj Sharma before the election results were declared. Acknowledging his concerns, the authorities have agreed to conduct a thorough inspection of the EVM microcontrollers and VVPATs.
The District Collector has directed Badgujar to submit an application and pay the prescribed fees within seven days of the election results, which were announced on Saturday (November 23). The inquiry letter was issued on Tuesday (November 26), giving Badgujar three days to comply.
The inspection will be conducted by engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) within 45 days. It will include detailed scrutiny of the Ballot Unit, Control Unit, and VVPAT. A fee of ₹40,000 per EVM set, plus 18% GST, will be charged for the process.
Badgujar has requested a five percent inspection of polling stations to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.