Chennai: DMK on Saturday alleged irregularities in electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in Chennai’s Kolathur assembly constituency, where former chief minister M K Stalin lost to TVK candidate V S Babu by 8,795 votes. District election officer (DEO) and Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner G S Sameeran, however, denied the allegations.DMK legal wing secretary N R Elango, who represented the party during the check and verification exercise, said irregularities had been detected in three of the eight EVM sets examined so far. “When the EVM from polling station 157 was checked, we found three major irregularities. The address tags of the VVPAT and control unit had not been filled in, an address tag appeared to be new, and the wax seal had been affixed improperly on the front. These raise serious doubts about the authenticity of the machines and whether they were kept in proper custody,” Elango told reporters.The verification exercise began on July 29 after Stalin raised doubts over the machines used at 14 polling stations. Elango said the DMK halted its participation in the exercise after finding what it described as irregularities in more than 30% of the machines examined. “This is sufficient to show that the assembly election was not conducted fairly. We have asked Election Commission officials to seal the machines properly and informed them that we will approach the appropriate court for further remedies,” he said. DMK has also submitted 19 questions to the district election officer and sought a response.Sameeran rejected the allegations, saying only a technical snag had been detected in a VVPAT unit. Officials offered to use another VVPAT, but the DMK representatives declined, he said. “No malpractice or defect has been found in the machines so far. As per standard procedure, the entire set, comprising the ballot unit, control unit and VVPAT was replaced. Similar minor technical issues can occur on polling day, and the machines are replaced immediately,” Sameeran said.Explaining the process, he said verification was being conducted in two phases. In the first, officials check the EVM components and seal numbers before completing authentication. A preliminary mock poll is then held to ensure that the machines are functioning properly. “This is followed by a detailed mock poll, during which 500 to 1,400 votes are cast on each machine to verify its functioning,” Sameeran said.
