EVMs not to be used in small elections where number of voters is less: CEC

Jodhpur: The EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) will be used only where the number of voters is high and the need is felt in small elections. EVMs are more expensive to conduct elections than ballot boxes, said Madhukar Gupta, Chief Election Commissioner while talking to the media at Circuit House in Jodhpur on Wednesday. He said that ballot boxes will be used at most of the places in the by-elections of Panchayati Raj and urban bodies.

Gupta had come here to take a meeting of divisional level election officers. “In small elections, the transportation and other expenses of EVMs are so high that it seems much cheaper to conduct elections through ballot boxes. Having technology is a good thing but cannot use it unnecessarily,” he said.

He said that at the time of checking the affidavit itself, the candidate should be stopped if the crime is known. If someone gives a false affidavit, a police case can be registered against him. Meetings are being held at all the divisional level of the state, in which ADMs and their teams are also being made aware of this entire process.