The voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system, introduced in this election in the Kancheepuram Assembly segment, helped resolve an issue pertaining to a tally of votes.
According to Arun Thamburaj, Returning Officer, Kancheepuram Assembly segment, the number of votes entered in the Form 17C of a polling booth and the total number of votes recorded in the control unit of that booth did not tally.
While the Form 17C indicated that 687 votes were recorded at that booth on May 16, the control unit showed that only 554 votes had been recorded on that day. Subsequently, the VVPAT used at that booth was opened to find out whether the data entered in the Form 17C or the one recorded at the control unit was correct, by counting the slips collected in the VVPAT box.
Break-up of votes
It was found that the total number of slips collected in the VVPAT box tallied with the number of votes entered in the Form 17C.
Hence, the break-up of 687 votes based on the VVPAT slips were added to the respective candidates’ tally, the RO said.
Subsequently, a note about the malfunctioning of the control unit was forwarded to the Bharat Electronics Limited for further investigation, Mr. Thamburaj added.
