The election commission will use the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) on experimental basis for the first time in the Maharashtra state assembly elections to be held on October 15.
According to state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nitin Gadre, the VVPAT will be used to avoid any conflict possibly arising over the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). The VVPAT will be used in the 13 assembly constituencies.
According to Mr. Gadre, an EVM will have a small attachment to it which after pressing the button for a desired candidate, will print that name on a paper. "It will be stored inside the machine and can be used in case of any controversy over the final result from that constituency," he said, in a press conference held in Mumbai after the announcement of state poll dates.
Mr. Gadre said that the technique has previously been used in Karnataka and some other places.
Referring to the controversy that erupted during the Lok Sabha polls, over the deleted names of voters from electoral roll, Mr. Gadre said that only 1 lakh voters out of deleted 26 lakh voters have applied for the re-inclusion of their names.
"We sent 26 lakh letters along with voter registration forms after the general elections," he said, adding that new voters can still register till September 17.
As per the number provided by Mr. Gadre, this state election will witness 91.82 lakh new voters between the age group of 18 to 24.
