(HT)
The Election Commission on Saturday asked the Andhra Pradesh chief electoral officer to supervise by-elections in Madhya Pradesh after a controversy erupted over the malfunctioning of an electronic voting machine in the state.
The poll panel’s order came after Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders knocked on its doors, alleging fudging of voting machines — a concern some opposition parties first raised after the BJP’s unexpectedly massive victory in Uttar Pradesh elections last month.
The election commission also transferred Bhind collector Iliyaraja T and superintendent of police Anil Singh Kushwaha out of the district. Madhya Pradesh holds by-polls to two assembly seats next week. The row erupted after a purported video of an electronic voting machine (EVM) trial ahead of the by-polls showed the paper trail attached to it generating a receipt for the BJP when state chief electoral officer Saleena Singh pressed the button for the Samajwadi Party candidate.
