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Maharashtra

‘EVMs Cannot Be Hacked,’ Says Maharashtra’s Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kiran Kulkarni On Opposition Allegations

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Mumbai: Amid the Opposition’s allegations regarding Electronic Voting Machines after the Maharashtra polls in which the ruling Mahayuti alliance registered a landslide victory, state’s Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kiran Kulkarni has asserted that EVMs cannot be hacked.

He said that the chips used in the EVMs are one-time programmable, making tampering impossible.

“I say this with full responsibility, EVM cannot be hacked. EVM cannot be tampered with. There is a simple reason for this. First, it is a standalone machine …no connection with any network or outer gadget. So, hacking or tampering is not possible. Second, the chip used in it is one-time programmable, so there cannot be any reprogramming,” Kulkarni told ANI on Tuesday.

He further said that there was no need for misunderstandings regarding EVMs since Election Commission of India (ECI) dictates a procedure that allows for matching of the Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) count and votes a candidate has received through EVMs.

This process is observed to ensure there was no discrepancy in these figures, Kulkarni said, while adding that this procedure of comparing the number of votes through VVPAT slips and EVM votes is undertaken before the declaration of the final results.

“There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings among political parties and common citizens regarding EVM. But there is no need for such misunderstandings…When votes are counted and the counting of votes of all EVMs concludes, after that, before the declaration of the result there is a procedure which is prescribed by the Election Commission of India. The procedure says that a lottery is drawn by collecting numbers of all the polling stations in the Assembly constituencies. This lottery is drawn in the presence of the Observer and representatives of all candidates of political parties. Of these, 5 polling stations are selected and VVPAT machines for the 5 polling stations are brought to the counting area. In the presence of everyone, the VVPAT slips are taken out and counted. Which candidate got how many votes as per the slips is counted. This number is matched with the votes voted through EVMs. This is observed that there is no discrepancy in these two figures…The voting in Maharashtra Assembly elections was done in the proper manner by following proper procedure…” Kulkarni said.

Maharashtra Chief Election Office S Chockalingam Rejects Opposition Allegations

Earlier, the Chief Election Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam on Tuesday rejected Opposition allegations regarding the legitimacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Maharashtra assembly elections and said “no mismatch” was found between the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT) slips with their corresponding EVM numbers.

In a statement, the Maharashtra CEO explained that, as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, it is mandatory to count VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations in each assembly constituency.

“VVPAT Slip count of randomly selected five polling stations per Assembly Constituency was conducted on November 23, during the counting procedure, in front of the Counting Observer / Representatives of Candidates. As per that, the slip count of 1440 VVPAT units from 288 Assembly Constituencies of Maharashtra State has been tallied with respective Control Unit data,” Chockalingam said.

“There is no discrepancy found between the VVPAT slip count and EVM Control unit count as per the reports received from the concerned DEOs,” Chockalingam added.

About The Row

This comes after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners raised questions about the legitimacy of EVMs following their defeat in the Maharashtra assembly election 2024.

The Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, secured a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections with the BJP emerging as the largest party with 132 seats in the 280-member Assembly, while its allies–the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar–won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

However, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback as Congress won only 16 seats, while its alliance partners, Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured just 10 seats.

Maharashtra

Sadanand Data’s path to becoming DGP is paved, Data will succeed Rashmi Shukla in Maharashtra, will take charge from January 1

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NIA Chief Sadanand Date: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) of the Central Government has taken a significant administrative decision, approving the immediate repatriation of National Investigation Agency (NIA) Director General and senior IPS officer Sadanand Vasant Date to his parent cadre in Maharashtra. This order, issued on December 22nd, is considered highly significant from both an administrative and political perspective.

Sadanand Date is a 1990 batch IPS officer and is known as a strict, honest, and experienced officer at both the central and state levels. During his tenure as NIA chief, the agency’s role in several sensitive and national security-related cases was further strengthened. Under his leadership, the NIA’s efficiency and credibility have increased.

This decision comes at a time when elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are scheduled for January. The BMC is one of the largest municipal corporations in the country, and maintaining law and order during its elections is a major challenge for the state police. Therefore, experienced leadership at both the central and state levels is considered crucial.

The term of the current Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, Rashmi Shukla, ends on December 31st. In this context, Sadanand Date’s name is being considered as a frontrunner for the next DGP of the state. According to administrative sources, Date’s appointment could ensure a fair and robust security arrangement during the elections.

Sadanand Date is known as the courageous officer who directly confronted terrorist Ajmal Kasab at the Cama and Albless Hospital during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He was seriously injured during the incident, but his courage and dedication to duty earned him national recognition.

If Sadanand Date is appointed as the new DGP of Maharashtra, it will be considered a major and positive step for the state’s law and order and security apparatus. Administrative circles believe that his appointment will boost the morale of the police force and help in conducting the upcoming elections peacefully.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Rickshaw driver beaten up in Vikhroli on suspicion of child theft, burqa-clad driver did this to collect fare, police claim

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Mumbai: Vikhroli Park Site, after the rumor of a child theft, chaos broke out and an auto rickshaw driver was attacked by a mob when he went to the street of Vikhroli Madina Masjid dressed in a burqa to collect his fare. During this, people suspected that the child had come to steal, after which the mob beat him up, but the police reached the spot and then took him into their custody. During interrogation, it was found that the child had not come wearing a burqa to steal but to collect the fare. He was dressed in a burqa so that no one would recognize him and he could easily collect his fare and go back, but unfortunately, the people caught him and the police took him out of the mob’s possession and safely took him to the police station. After that, the police confirmed that the child had not come to steal. Further investigation is underway in this matter. The police said that along with the investigation, it is also being found out whether he really came to collect the fare or not. He is a thief. Initial investigation has revealed that the child is not a thief. The police have confirmed that the rickshaw driver is not a thief.

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Maharashtra

Municipal Corporation in Mumbai is committed to conducting administration and election process in a fearless, free and transparent environment: Bhushan Gagrani

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Mumbai: Municipal Corporation Administration and Election System Mumbai Municipal Corporation is committed to conducting the election process for the general elections 2025-26 in a completely fearless, free, transparent and disciplined environment. In this regard, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Administration has made all and extensive preparations and all necessary measures are being implemented effectively. The role of political parties is very important in the election process. In order to promote democratic values ​​and make the election process fair, transparent and credible, all political parties, their office bearers and workers should strictly follow the code of conduct framed by the State Election Commission and cooperate with the Municipal Corporation Administration. A positive and exemplary example should be set in the electoral process, this appeal was made by Municipal Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani. A meeting was held with representatives of political parties at the Municipal Corporation headquarters today in connection with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation general elections 2025-26. On this occasion, Gagrani presented detailed information about various administrative, technical and legal aspects of the elections.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Special Duty Officer (Election) Vijay Balmwar, Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Vishwas Shankarwar, Assistant Commissioner (Taxation and Collection) Gajanan Belle, UP Election Officer Vijay Kumar Suryavanshi and other office bearers and representatives of various political parties were present in the meeting. Political parties were provided detailed information about the offices of 23 Election Decision Officers and their scope of work for the smooth conduct of the elections. Along with this, guidance was also given on the process of filing nomination papers, scrutiny of applications, registration of objections and how to contact these offices for day-to-day work in the election process. Municipal Commissioner Shri said that all necessary arrangements have been completed at the level of the Election Decision Officer so that the candidates do not face any technical problems.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that all guidelines have been given so that the candidates do not make any mistakes while filing nomination papers (candidate applications) for the elections. The concerned persons should submit all the information in the prescribed format. Candidates should take special care that no application is rejected due to technical difficulties. It is mandatory for the candidates to fill all the information correctly and clearly in the affidavit submitted with their application. He said that if any column is left blank in the affidavit or if incorrect information is found, the nomination of the candidate, along with all other matters, can be cancelled.

Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Vishwas Shankarwar said that the main objective of the administration is to increase the voting percentage to strengthen democracy. For this, political parties should create awareness among the voters. Public awareness is being created among the voters under the ‘SVEEP’ program by the Municipal Corporation. Also, it is mandatory to follow the guidelines of the esteemed State Election Commission regarding election expenses. Candidates should keep a record of every expense incurred during the election campaign and submit the account of election expenses within the stipulated time. Various doubts raised by the representatives of political parties on various issues were cleared including caste verification certificate, toilet usage certificate, Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, appointment of representatives of election candidates.

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