Gujarat polls: EC releases data of EVMs, VVPATs used in first phase

As Gujarat went to polls in the first phase today, the Election Commission of India (ECI) released a data of the number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPATs used in all 24,689 polling stations.

A total of 26865 Ballot Units (BUs) and 24689 Control Units (CUs) were used, while 24689 VVPATs were used in the first phase.

An EVM consists of two Units - a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit - joined by a five-metre cable. The Control Unit is with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment.

During the polling process, 0.37 per cent of BUs, 0.38 per cent of CUs and 1.90 per cent of VVPATs were replaced, according to the electoral watchdog.

Amid the polling, there were also complaints of malfunctioning EVMs and them being connected to Bluetooth.

Acting upon such complaints, the EC even visited a polling booth in Thakkar Plot, Porbandar for inspection, and EVM engineer S Anand told media, "The name that you give to your Bluetooth device will be shown when it is paired to another device."

Addressing the issue of malfunctioning EVMs, Bhavnagar's Deputy Electoral Officer, Yogesh Thakkar told ANI that no such issues were reported.

"Some EVMs were replaced due to errors. EVMs were updated with VVPATs, which allows people to verify their vote for 7 seconds," he added.

The voting for the first phase ends at 5:00 pm today, while the second phase will be held on 14 December.

-ANI