EVMs seen in Saran meant for training purposes: EC

PATNA: Additional chief electoral officer (ACEO) of state Sanjay Kumar Singh on Tuesday said doubts being raised on Saran administration over EVMs transportation in an open vehicle were baseless. He said all the EVMs used in elections were safe, secure and under surveillance.
A video of EVMs loaded on a pickup van went viral on Monday. Even RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav expressed concern over it through a tweet.
Singh clarified that the EVMs in Saran shown in the video were meant for training officials for counting purposes.“The 12 ballot units, control units and VVPATs which were in the video were those being taken to the training centre from a warehouse in Saran. Those were shown to the representatives of the candidates in the fray to satisfy them that all those equipment in the vehicle had nothing to do with those used in the elections. All EVMs used in the Lok Sabha elections were sealed in the strongroom,” he said, adding the representatives had expressed their satisfaction in writing as well.
The ACEO said reserved and unused EVMs are kept in the warehouse while those used in polling are kept inside strongrooms under a three-layer security along with surveillance through CCTV cameras. “While inner security cover is handled by central forces, middle and outer security cover is handled by state police personnel,” he clarified.
The two-day training of officials for counting of votes across Bihar concluded on Tuesday, Singh told TOI over phone. He said counting of votes would begin at 8am across all the centres as per protocols.
“After all the votes get counted, five VVPATS and their simultaneous control units, one by one from each assembly segment, would be chosen randomly for matching of votes counted electronically with the number of printed slips,” he said.
An EC source said the official declaration of results would take much time as at least 10,000 booths had increased in the state in addition with the protocol of matching VVPAT slips. “For public, trends would start coming by 9am and it is likely to be stabilized by 2pm,” he clarified.