The Congress party has formally lodged a complaint with the Telangana State Election Commission (SEC), urging the replacement of M2 model Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the upcoming Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC), Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC), and municipal corporation elections. The party contends that these machines do not support the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system, leaving voters unable to verify whether their votes were correctly recorded for their chosen candidate.
Formal Complaint Submitted to SEC
In a complaint submitted to the Telangana SEC on May 19, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) explicitly objected to the deployment of M2 model EVMs for the local body polls. The TPCC argued that the absence of VVPAT functionality undermines voter confidence and transparency. As an alternative, the party demanded the use of traditional ballot papers for these elections to ensure verifiability.
Questions Raised Over EVM Checking Process
The Congress party also raised serious concerns about the ongoing checking of EVMs at the Chudi Bazaar godown. It alleged that the process was not being conducted in accordance with the "Manual on Electronic Voting Machines" issued by the Election Commission of India. The complaint highlighted that the checking was carried out without the presence of the district electoral officer or other responsible officials, as mandated by the prescribed procedure. The TPCC urged the SEC to immediately halt the ongoing checking process and clarify what it described as conflicting information regarding the First Level Check procedures.
The complaint was submitted by the TPCC Election Commission Coordination Committee and signed by its chairman, P Rajesh Kumar.
