Bypolls top updates: Opposition seeks repoll alleging EVM malfunctioning

There are reports that in Noorpur, 140 EVMs were found to be faulty, which was because they had been tampered with. There were similar reports from Kairana. Catch all the updates here

Voting started at 7 am on Monday for four Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats, including in Kairana in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh. Voting in the Bhandara–Gondiya Lok Sabha bypolls was suspended temporarily across 35 booths because of faulty electronic voting machines (EVMs).  

Not long after voting started, reports emerged of faulty EVMs and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines from various constituencies.     

One BJP Candidate from Kairana LS bypolls has approached the Election Commision with regards to faluty EVMs.

"There was massive technical snag in the EVMs and total breakdown of systems. My supporters went back without voting as machines were not working. My party leaders have approached the EC regarding the matter," said Mriganka Singh, BJP Candidate from Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls.

However, Leaders of the Congress, SP and the RLD demanded that the Election Commission should order re-polling in the Kairana Lok Sabha and Noorpur Assembly constituencies after there were reports of malfunctioning of the EVMs in some areas.

A delegation of the opposition party leaders met the EC and raised the issue of polling being halted at a number of places due to faulty EVMs.

The delegation, comprising Congress leader RPN Singh, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and RLD chief Ajit Singh, told the commission about the reports of malfunctioning of the electronic voting machines at many places.

"We have demanded that wherever the machines have malfunctioned, where the machines have taken more than an hour-and-a-half to be changed, re-polling should take place at those booths tomorrow or the day after.

"We have also demanded that wherever the machines were changed in less than an hour-and-a-half, an additional time of 90 minutes after 6 0'clock should be given to the people to cast their votes," Singh told reporters after the meeting.

Besides Kairana in Western Uttar Pradesh, by-elections are being held in the Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra and the Nagaland Lok Sabha seat. 

The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency fell vacant after the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is now the party's candidate. She is fighting against Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD's) Tabassum Hasan, who is backed by a united Opposition, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). 

In the two Lok Sabha seats that are going to the bypolls in Maharashtra, all four major parties -- the Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- are going all out as these bypolls are being considered as crucial in the run-up to the General elections in 2019. 

The Shiv Sena has fielded late BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga's son Shriniwas Wanaga in Palghar, much to the dislike of the saffron party, which has in-turn nominated Congress deserter Rajendra Gavit. 

Here are the top updates from the bypolls:


1) One BJP Candidate from Kairana LS bypolls has approached the Election Commision with regards to faluty EVMs.

"There was massive technical snag in the EVMs and total breakdown of systems. My supporters went back without voting as machines were not working. My party leaders have approached the EC regarding the matter," said Mriganka Singh, BJP Candidate from Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls.

BJP delegation met EC officials in Delhi over reports of malfunctioning in EVMs during by-polls today. BJP's Arun Singh says, "we told them that we received info that EVMs worked either late or with some issues or didn't work at all in 197 booths,demanded repolling at few stations"

2) Leaders of the Congress, SP and the RLD demanded that the Election Commission should order re-polling in the Kairana Lok Sabha and Noorpur Assembly constituencies after there were reports of malfunctioning of the EVMs in some areas.

A delegation of the opposition party leaders met the EC and raised the issue of polling being halted at a number of places due to faulty EVMs.

The delegation, comprising Congress leader RPN Singh, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and RLD chief Ajit Singh, told the commission about the reports of malfunctioning of the electronic voting machines at many places.

"We have demanded that wherever the machines have malfunctioned, where the machines have taken more than an hour-and-a-half to be changed, re-polling should take place at those booths tomorrow or the day after.

"We have also demanded that wherever the machines were changed in less than an hour-and-a-half, an additional time of 90 minutes after 6 0'clock should be given to the people to cast their votes," Singh told reporters after the meeting.

3) Palghar by-poll voter turnout: Voter turnout of 19.25 per cent recorded until 1 pm in the Palghar bypoll.




4) Prashant Narnaware, returning officer for the Palghar by-poll, told news agencies that they encountered problems and panic in the initial hours. "Nothing has happened after 12 pm. The new machines are working properly. We are in consultation with Central Election Commission about extension of voting time," added Narnaware.



5) EVMs malfunction during Bhandara-Gondiya bypoll: "In many big European nations, election commissions have rejected the EVMs and gone back to ballot paper system. SP leader Akhilesh Yadav ji just called me up, he also said 300 EVMs not working in Kairana bypoll," NCP's Praful Patel told news agencies.



6) Shahkot bypoll voting count: Voter turnout of 44 per cent recorded until 1 pm in the Shahkot Assembly by-election Punjab.

7) Use ballot papers instead of EVMs, says Shiv Sena: Technical problems in EVMs and VVPATs clearly indicate failure of EC. If this is the situation in by-polls, think about coming Lok Sabha Elections. We've said it again and again, and other parties have also agreed, that elections should be conducted using ballot papers," Shiv Sena's Anil Desai told news agencies.  

8) A dress rehearsal for a united Opposition taking on PM Modi: The Kairana bypoll is seeing a joint Opposition going up against the ruling BJP. Due to the political importance of UP, the bypoll has virtually assumed the dimensions of a strategic battle in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

The Opposition is hoping that they could possibly repeat the success of the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls by consolidating the anti-BJP vote.

In a boost to Opposition unity, the Lok Dal candidate, Kanwar Hasan, withdrew from the contest and announced his support for the RLD candidate. 

BJP taking no chances in Kairana; ministers in campaign fray: After the drubbing in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, the BJP is making extra efforts to try and retain the Kairana constituency. Apart from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and  Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, at least five others ministers campaigned in Kairana for the party candidate.

They include Dharam Singh Saini (minister of state for Ayush), Suresh Rana (Sugarcane Development), Anupama Jaiswal (Basic Education), Surya Pratap Shahi (Agriculture), and Laxmi Narayan (Religious Affairs, Culture, Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj). 

9) Security stepped up for Kairana bypoll: A total of 51 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the Kairana bypolls. Out of which, 26 are stationed in the Shamli district and 25 in the Saharanpur district, an official told news agencies.

According to the official, state boundaries touching Kairana have also been sealed ahead of the bypoll.  

10) AAP supports SP, RLD candidates in UP bypolls: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced its support for the RLD candidate in the Kairana parliamentary bypoll and the SP candidate in the Noorpur Assembly constituency in a bid to throw its weight behind a united Opposition. 

"We have decided that there has to be solidarity among the Opposition parties on these two seats and hence this decision," party leader Sanjay Singh said. 

With agency inputs