Compared to 2015 and 2022, elections have been announced a week earlier this time. The results will be available a week in advance.
New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly elections, which have garnered nationwide attention, will be held on February 5 in a single phase, with the counting of votes taking place on February 8. This announcement was made by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday. The entire process will take 33 days. Compared to the elections in 2015 and 2020, this time the election announcement was made a week earlier, and the results will also be declared a week ahead.
Rajiv Kumar mentioned that the polling date has been set on a Wednesday to encourage maximum voter participation, keeping in mind the experience from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
“4.5 crore VVPAT slips counted; no discrepancies in any vote” Rajiv Kumar also stated that no discrepancies were found in the vote count between EVMs and VVPAT slips. He asserted that the election process is trustworthy. As per a Supreme Court ruling in 2019, five VVPAT slips from each assembly constituency should be counted. Over 67,000 VVPAT checks were conducted, and 4.5 crore VVPAT slips were counted, with no discrepancies in any of the votes.
After the Maharashtra Assembly elections, opposition parties raised concerns about the reliability of EVMs and accused the machines of tampering. Rajiv Kumar dismissed these allegations, stating that minor errors might occur due to technical faults or the retention of mock poll data in old VVPAT machines. These issues are promptly resolved.
Regarding the inspection of politicians’ helicopters… In the Maharashtra elections, there were questions raised regarding the inspection of politicians’ helicopters, and instances of threats being made to polling officers. Rajiv Kumar warned that political leaders and star campaigners are required to follow the code of conduct, and if they fail to do so, the Election Commission will take strict action.
Leaders file petitions in the High Court against EVMs Several candidates from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, questioning the integrity of EVMs and alleging discrepancies in the voter lists, have approached the High Court. Many defeated candidates have filed personal petitions. So far, 38 petitions have been filed in the Bombay High Court, 17 in the Aurangabad bench, and 12 in the Nagpur bench. There is a possibility of more petitions being filed.
