Nuapada bypoll: Odisha CEO dismisses BJD's EVM shifting allegations

Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 (PTI) Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R S Goapalan on Monday rejected the opposition BJD's allegation that a truckload of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was covertly moved from Ganjam district to Nuapada on November 9 ahead of the by-election to the constituency.

Addressing a press conference here, Gopalan said the CEO's office has received a complaint regarding the transportation of EVMs from Ganjam to Nuapada.

"This allegation is completely baseless and impossible. We have verified the CCTV footage of the EVM warehouses at Ganjam, and there have been no such activities there," the CEO said.

He said, "No EVM has been brought from anywhere nor sent out of Nuapada district".

Goapalan said that each district has its own EVM warehouse/secured by police and CCTV surveillance. EVMs to be used in the Nuapada bypoll were procured only from those stored in the warehouse in the district.

"The allegation that the Nuapada Collector brought EVMs from Ganjam is entirely false. We also have the list of all EVMs used, even for training and creating awareness among the voters, and those are in our custody. Voters should not believe in such allegations and news on television channels," he said.

Gopalan further said that the warehouses in Ganjam district were intact. There was no movement of any EVMs, he said, adding that though warehouses are opened every three months for inspection, it has not even been opened this month.

"When we open the warehouses, the entire process is video recorded and carried out in the presence of representatives of all political parties. They are given a copy with serial numbers of all EVMs," he claimed.

However, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty at a press conference rejected the CEO's claims. "With due respect to the CEO, we as a responsible political party want to say that the EVMs were transported from Ganjam district and set to be engaged in 32 specific booths in Nuapada. We have submitted the list of such booths where the new EVMs are planned to be planted," Mohanty claimed.

Asked about the CCTV footage claim of the CEO, the BJD leader said, "We have seen how CCTVs are functioning in the state. When a senior lawyer was killed in Berhampur, there was no CCTV footage. Similarly, when a stampede took place during the Rath Yatra in Puri, the CCTVs were not working. One can conclude from these two incidents how one can rely on CCTVs in Ganjam EVM warehouses." The BJD also raised a complaint on the activities of the Nuapada District Collector, SP and the IGP of the region.

"These people are working for the ruling BJP and not for democracy," Mohanty alleged, though he said that the opposition party has trust in the credibility of CEO Gopalan.

Meanwhile, Nuapada district collector cum district election officer (DEO) Madusudan Dash and SP Amritpal Singh said that all arrangements have been made in all the 358 polling booths, including 47 identified polling stations in the Left Wing Extremism hit areas.

Erick Gilbert Jose, a Commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), in Nuapada said, "We are well prepared for peaceful voting on Tuesday. Our choppers are dropping polling officials in Naxal-hit areas. We have already dominated the LWE hit places and ensured that no naxal could reach near polling stations. We have dominated the places much before the elections." Over 2.53 lakh voters, comprising 1,24,108 males and 1,29,495 females, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 358 polling booths in the Nuapada constituency to decide the fate of 14 candidates. PTI AAM AAM RG