Congress team meets Maharashtra poll panel, demands VVPAT use in local body polls

Mumbai: A Maharashtra Congress delegation on Tuesday met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and demanded the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in the upcoming local body polls in the state.

State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, who led the delegation, later said the recent conduct of the Election Commission (EC) has raised serious concerns about its neutrality and credibility, referring to party MP Rahul Gandhi allegations of "vote theft".

He pushed for the use of VVPAT machines, which are attached with EVMs, to ensure free and fair elections to rural and urban local bodies, including in big cites like Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Thane.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Sapkal said, "While it is the constitutional duty of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections, the recent conduct of the EC has raised serious concerns about its neutrality and credibility."

He alleged the ruling party (a reference to BJP) has been aided in electoral malpractices, thereby undermining the democratic process.

"Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has already exposed vote theft during the (2024) Lok Sabha elections," Sapkal maintained.

"In light of increasing reports of electoral irregularities, we demand that VVPATs be used in all local body elections to ensure transparency," he stated.

The Congress delegation urged the SEC to reconsider its earlier decision, of not using VVPAT machines in the local body polls due this year, in the larger interest of preserving people's trust in the electoral process.

VVPAT is an independent printer system attached with electronic voting machines that allows the electors to verify that their votes are cast as intended.