Defective EVMs cause delays at counting centres in Chennai North and South constituencies

Election Commission faces EVM issues during Chennai vote counting, delays results, but DMK candidate emerges victorious.

The Election Commission (EC) had teething trouble with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) at the counting centres in the city, with the process dragging on well into the night.

While the counting Chennai South constituency began around 8.30 a.m. at the Anna University campus on Tuesday, there was a considerable delay in the announcement of round 1 results. As one of the EVMs encountered an issue, there was a delay in compilation of the results, an official said.

Post-noon, the pace picked up and the results of the other rounds were announced quickly. During the course of counting, some of the EVMs were not working, and officials said they would be taken up for counting at the end.

Around 6 p.m., BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan raised her concerns to the Returning Officer (R.O.) and said it was unfair that seven EVMs had issues and could not be counted. She said these machines had a sizeable number of votes, and they should have been informed of the issue in advance. The Returning Officer assured her that the VVPAT slips would be counted for these EVMs.

The counting process for the Chennai North Parliamentary constituency, led by R.O. (North) Katta Ravi Teja, did not face major hurdles. Here as well, the first round results were announced only at 11.15 a.m. The delay was because the officials had to ensure the numbers were precise and had no errors, he said.

In the afternoon, a counting booth agent, Raj Kamal of the BJP complained of dizziness and low blood pressure. He was administered IV fluids by the doctor stationed at the centre and taken to a hospital in Royapuram in an ambulance. DMK cadre distributed buttermilk packets to the agents, officials, and security personnel to beat the heat.

Earlier in the day, R. Rajan, father of Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan attempted to enter the Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar Assembly segment counting hall, at Queen Mary’s College, but was prevented by police personnel. He soon left the campus, and no one gave any reasons for the incident. There were a few defective EVMs that held up the announcement of results.