Summary:
He also asked the political parties to identify and depute their own booth level agents (BLAs). The CEC, who was on a two-day tour, ruled out the possibility of the return of ballot paper use in the polls. Noting that there was difference between “tampering” and “malfunctioning” of the EVMs, he said the EC officials have no track record of indulging in EVM tampering. He asserted that the EC has been “a robust system” and a committee of experts has also certified the robustness of the EVMs.“EVM malfunctioning is occasionally reported,” Arora said, adding that while voters exercised their franchise at 1.76 lakh polling booths during the recently held assembly elections in five states, the complaints received were from only six booths and that, too, not related to the EVM tampering. “Our objective is that there should not be even a single complaint,” he said.Arora and election commissioner Ashok Lavasa , assisted by a nine-member EC team, were in Patna over the last two days for separate interactive sessions with the representatives of political parties, senior officials of the central government offices like income tax, railways and airport, as well as banks, besides state government officials, including chief secretary, home department principal secretary, district magistrates (DMs) and SPs with eye on the management of the election process in respect of the parliamentary election.The CEC expressed concern over the law and order situation and even the involvement of “some police personnel” in the illegal liquor trade despite prohibition in the state since 2016..