Chennai’s Kolathur constituency is undergoing verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the recent election in which DMK leader M.K. Stalin contested and lost. After inspecting the ongoing checks, DMK MP N.R. Elango alleged that the process has revealed multiple irregularities.
Elango said verification is being carried out for machines used in 14 polling stations. He stated that on July 29, two machines were checked without issues, but on July 30, the VVPAT unit in two machines did not function, and on July 31, a VVPAT used in another booth also failed.
He further claimed that during checks at polling station No. 75, the address tag on the machine showed mismatched numbers. At polling station No. 175, he said four machines had “brand new” address tags, with addresses left unfilled, and that seals were placed on the front instead of the back.
According to Elango, three of the eight machines checked so far had problems, which he described as about 30%. He said the party has submitted a letter to the district election officer and would approach the Madras High Court or the Supreme Court.
Chennai Corporation Commissioner Sameeran, however, said the first stage of verification involved identifying the machines used for polling and checking recorded vote details, which were certified as correct in the presence of candidate representatives. He added that sample voting of at least 500 to 1,400 votes is conducted to test EVM functioning, and that no wrongdoing has been found so far; remaining machines would also be checked even if the complainant does not attend.
