This Constituency With 185 Candidates In Fray Set To Vote Using Four EVMs At A Time
Nizamabad constituency in Telangana will in fact vote using Electronic Voting Machines EVMs. The election which is to be held on April 11 ran into the hitherto unforeseen crisis after hundreds of turmeric farmers threw their names into the fray as independent candidates. A repeat of it could play out in Varanasi from where PM Modi will seek re-election.
Nizamabad constituency in Telangana which had made news headlines last week for the jumbo candidate list for the upcoming polls will in fact vote using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Earlier, there were reports that the Election Commission was planning to hold the elections in Nizamabad, where TRS MP K Kavitha, daughter of state Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, is seeking re-election, using paper ballots as the EVMs cannot accommodate 185 names.
BCCL
A 'normal EVM' can accommodate only 16 names and according to the EC, a maximum of 4 ballot units can be deployed in on a booth, which makes it a maximum of 64 names including NOTA. Only one control unit is allotted to a booth which can take a record of 4 EVMs.
BCCL
Faced with this unprecedented challenge, the Election Commission, instead of taking a step, back in time has decided to go ahead with electronic voting in Nizamabad too.
As part of this, the EC has placed an urgent order for 26,820 ballot units, 2,240 control units and 2,600 VVPATs of third-generation (M3) EVMs.
Unlike the conventional EVMs, the M3 EVMs can be connected to 24 ballot units and accommodate up to 384 candidates.
The order has been placed with Electronics Corporation of India Limited, the supplier of the EVMs.
BCCL
The election which is to be held on April 11 ran into the hitherto unforeseen crisis after hundreds of turmeric farmers threw their names into the fray as independent candidates.
Initially, there were a total of 503 candidates who had filed their nominations, out of which 60 withdrew and others were disqualified leaving 178 farmers still in contention.
The farmers decided to contest the polls to press for their demands including a Minimum Support Price of Rs. 15,000 per quintal for turmeric besides setting up of turmeric board.
BCCL
While what happened in Nizamabad is unprecedented, a repeat of it could play out in Varanasi, from where PM Modi will seek re-election.
111 farmers from Tamil Nadu have announced that they will contest as independent candidates from the seat.
Ex-BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was sacked for complaining against the poor quality of food served to the armed forces personnel too have announced his candidate from Varanasi.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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