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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

Good News For Mumbaikars! New Jogeshwari Terminus Nears Completion, Operations Likely To Begin In Next 6 Months

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Mumbai: The upcoming rail terminus at Jogeshwari, located between Ram Mandir and Jogeshwari stations on the eastern side, is expected to be operational within the next six months. The facility, built on land that previously housed a railway-operated cement warehouse, is projected to remarkably reduce congestion at existing terminuses in Dadar, Bandra and Mumbai Central by increasing train services.

Western Railway (WR) officials confirmed that the Rs 69 crore project, under construction for nearly two years, is progressing steadily. Contractors have been directed to expedite the work, with a target of completing 70-75% of the project by the end of March.

Several key milestones have already been achieved, including the completion of a labour shed. Work on essential components such as the cover shed, service building, platform and station building is ongoing, while track-laying has commenced.

“The construction at Jogeshwari Terminus is moving at a good pace. The island platforms are nearly complete, and we expect the majority of civil work to be finished by summer. The progress of island platforms and associated infrastructure is visible on-site,” said a senior Western Railway official.

An island platform, which allows trains to arrive on tracks on either side, is an efficient space-saving design. The terminus at Jogeshwari will feature a 600-meter-long and 12-meter-wide island platform, capable of handling 24-coach trains. Additionally, the facility will include two berthing lines and a Power Run Down (PRD) line to facilitate shunting operations. A coach watering facility will also be available.

With Mumbai’s growing commuter base, the Jogeshwari Terminus is expected to provide much-needed relief, streamlining operations and improving connectivity for long-distance travellers.

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Bollywood

India’s Got Latent Controversy: Mumbai Police Summons Ranveer Allahbadia & Samay Raina Over ‘Vulgar’ Remarks During Show

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Mumbai: The Mumbai police are conducting a preliminary inquiry into digital content creators Ranveer Allahbadia and Samay Raina, who host India’s Got Latent. On Tuesday, the police sent a summons to both of them. A police team arrived at Allahbadia’s residence, located near Seven Bungalows, Andheri West, at Bay View Building, and will be questioning him and Raina there. The police are investigating a controversial video clip. In India’s Got Latent, Allahbadia made a comment that created outrage and was alleged to be vulgar and obscene. The comment faced criticism from various platforms, including political, social, legal, and women’s rights organisations.

Earlier today, a team of Mumbai Police reached Ranveer Allahbadia’s house in the city’s Versova area.

According to reports, the Parliamentary IT Panel is mulling over whether to summon Allahbadia following Shiv Sena UBT Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s statement on Monday, in which she stated that she would raise the issue before the Panel.

After the backlash, Ranveer issued an apology and called it a ‘lapse in judgment.’ He said, “My comment wasn’t just inappropriate; it wasn’t even funny. Comedy is not my forte. I am just here. Many of you asked if this is how I wish to use my platform and obviously, this is not how I wish to use it. I am not going to give any context or justification or reasoning behind whatever happened. I am just here to apologise.”

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disaster

Massive Fire Breaks Out At Oshiwara Furniture Market In Jogeshwari, No Injuries Reported; Visuals Surface

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Mumbai: A massive fire broke out at a furniture godown in Oshiwara Furniture Market in Jogeshwari West, on Tuesday morning. The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) reported the incident at 11:52 am, classifying it as a Level-II fire at 11:46 am. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Details On The Fire Incident

The fire erupted in a ground-floor furniture godown near A1 Darbar Restaurant on Swami Vivekanand Marg. Thick smoke and flames were seen rising from the structure, causing panic in the area. Firefighters and other emergency services rushed to the spot to contain the blaze.

Authorities quickly mobilised multiple agencies, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, police, Adani electricity officials, ward staff and 108 ambulance services. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far.

Cause Of Fire Not Known Yet

Firefighting operations were underway to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby structures, with efforts focused on controlling the flames and ensuring the safety of surrounding areas. The cause of the fire remains unknown and further investigation will be conducted to determine the exact reason behind the incident.

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