Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the Bijepur by-election Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trais (VVPATs) machines have been procured along EVMs, Orissa Chief Electoral Officer DN Gupta said. VVPAT, which was first introduced by the ECI in 2013, will be used in the state for the first time in the by-poll to enhance transparency. Once the vote is polled, the VVPAT linked EVM immediately takes a printout and it is preserved for tallying in case there is a dispute of the result.
Gupta said that VVPATs and EVMs have been procured from Gujarat as per the direction of the ECI and are undergoing check.
Sources said for 270 polling booths in Bijepur 20 per cent extra VVPAT machines have been brought to ensure smooth conduct of the by-poll. The by-election was necessitated afterthe death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu in August.
The delay in the issue of the notification for the by-poll has already sparked a fight among the BJD, Congress and the BJP with the BJD and the Congress accusing the BJP of putting pressure on the ECI to delay the election.
Reacting to the issue of notification of the by-poll date, the CEO said, while the six month period of the by-election is normally counted from the date of vacancy, if there is any petition pending in court, the period starts from the date of finalisation of the case by court and the bypoll would be held within six months of the closure of the case.
PNN