HYDERABAD: The ball is in the Election Commission of India’s court now. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar’s office has forwarded two options to the ECI regarding the election at Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, where as many as 185 candidates are in the fray, thereby complicating things for officials. The CEO’s office has asked whether it should use printed ballot papers or third-generation (M3) Electronic Voting Machines.
If the ECI does indeed choose the latter, a whopping 26,500 EVMs would be required at Nizamabad alone. The proposals were forwarded to ECI headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon and a reply is expected soon.
Chain of events
After the nominations were finalised, the District Election Officer was asked to compile a report on the availability of poll infrastructure and other related information. Based on this report, CEO Kumar forwarded a requirement of new EVMs, control units, voter verifiable paper audit trail machines (VVPAT). The CEO’s office also asked questions about the design of ballot papers and their size. The CEO’s office estimated that around 26,500 EVMs, including spares, would be needed at Nizamabad in case the machines are used there.
Each polling booth in the constituency would require 12 balloting units, one control unit and one VVPAT.
With 185 candidates in the fray, M3 or third generation EVMs would be required as they can hold data pertaining to 384 candidates. The older generation, M2, can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates.