Congress complains to EC about faulty EVMs in Maharashtra

The Congress on Thursday said it has submitted 33 complaints to the Election Commission about glitches in the electronic voting machines EVMs at some polling booths across Maharashtras 10 Lok Sabha seats where voting was underway The state Congress units legal cell submitted the complaints to the EC via email the party said in a statementIt also flagged concerns about poor lighting arrangements at some polling centres the statement said Solapur Hingoli and Nanded constituencies have reported more EVMrelated complaints Vinay Pandey of the state Congress legal cell said Parbhani Beed Osmanabad Latur Buldhana Akola and Amravati are the other constituencies where polling was currently being heldWatch VideoVoting started on a peaceful note for 10 Lok Sabha seats spread in Maharashtras Vidarbha and Marathwada regions in the second phase of elections on Thursday morning The constituencies going to polling are Buldhana Akola Amravati SC Hingoli Nanded Parbhani Beed Osmanabad Latur SC and Solapur SCMaharashtra 105yearold Kavaibai Kamble along with her family cast her vote at a polling station in Harangul Budruk in Latur constituency Polling is underway at 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state pictwittercomfP3poGXxXWmdash ANI ANI April 18 2019Maharashtra Maharashtra Congress chief and sitting MP from Nanded Ashok Chavan casts his vote at a polling station in Nanded parliamentary constituency LokSabhaElections2019 pictwittercom0bLxI6FGU1mdash ANI ANI April 18 2019The main contests shall be between ruling Bharatiya Janata PartyShiv Sena and Opposition CongressNationalist Congress Party besides the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi VBA a DalitMuslim front Among the early voters were former Union Home Minister and exChief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde his wife Ujwala their legislator daughter Praniti Shinde and other family members who arrived at a polling station to cast exercise their franchiseBesides Maharashtra polling is being held in 14 seats in Karnataka eight in Uttar Pradesh five each in Assam Bihar and Odisha three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal two in Jammu and Kashmir and one seat each in Manipur and PuducherryAn average 86 per cent voterturnout was recorded till 9 am in 10 constituencies ofMaharashtra where polling was underway in the second phase ofLok Sabha elections on Thursday an official saidMaharashtra Polling booth number 193 in Buldhana is being managed by speciallyabled staff Presiding officer says This booth is being managed by speciallyabled staff only I appeal to all speciallyabled persons to cast their votes to strengthen democracy pictwittercomi9P91BwzOEmdash ANI ANI April 18 2019According to the state election office Parbhani LokSabha seat recorded 93 per cent voting in the first twohours while it was 888 per cent in NandedBesides Latur recorded 841 per cent followed byHingoli794 per cent Osmanabad79 per cent Buldhana77per cent Akola76 per cent per cent Beed755 per centSolapur687 per cent and Amravati64 per centIn Nanded there were complaints of malfunctioning of78 electronic voting machines EVMsA total of 179 candidates are in the fray in the 10constituenciesWatch VideoBeed constituency has the maximum number of 36contestants while 10 candidates are contesting from LaturProminent candidates in the fray are senior Congressleaders and former chief ministers Ashok Chavan andSushilkumar Shinde who are contesting from Nanded and Solapurseats respectivelyIn Beed the home constituency of late BJP leaderGopinath Munde his daughter Pritam is seeking another termShe is facing Bajrang Sonawane of the NCPIn the 2014 elections the NDA won 8 out of these 10seats whereas the Congress won two seats Nanded andHingoliA total of 62700 EVMs 37850 ballot units and 24850control units and around 27000 VVPAT Voter Verifiable PaperAudit Trail machines are in place for the second phaseCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesEdited by midday online desk with inputs from Agencies