Election 2019: Voter in Kalina alleges his vote went to another party

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It was an eventful day for Mumbai which voted in six constituencies on Monday, but more so for 62-year-old Gabriel Pinto, who went to vote at St Anthony High School in Kalina. Pinto claimed that he voted for a party but the machine displayed that he had voted for another.

Pinto said that when it was his turn to vote, he pressed on the button of the party he wanted to vote for. "After I pressed the button, I was shocked to see that the slip in the machine showed a different symbol before it dropped into the box. I immediately shouted and told the official there," he said.

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He further alleged that the officials tried to discourage him from complaining. "They told me that they would allow me to repoll. But if I couldn't prove that my vote indeed went to another candidate then I would be imprisoned for six months. I got scared and didn't complain," Pinto said.

Brian Miranda, former Congress corporator, who was voting at the same centre at the time too heard about Pinto's allegations. "It is wrong on the part of the election officer to discourage him instead of just checking the last vote to verify his allegations. Maybe the machine has not been tampered with but could have had a fault. There is no harm in checking," said Miranda.

"He should have complained at the time if he was sure and a test vote would have been carried out to verify. Under the election commission guidelines, now there is no scope and they are just allegations that can no longer be substantiated," said Sonali Muley, nodal officer, Suburban Collector office.

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