A voter allegedly tried to set fire to an EVM (electronic voting machine) in Sangola tehsil of Solapur district when elections were being held for Madha Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra on Tuesday, an official said, news agency PTI reported. .
No damage was caused to the polling unit, VVPT unit or control unit but the EVM was replaced, he said, adding that there was no need to re-vote at the polling station concerned for the Lok elections. Sabha 2024, PTI reported.
The voter was taken into police custody. The incident occurred at a polling station in Badalwadi in Sangola tehsil. “A voter attempted to set fire to an EVM machine at polling booth number 86 in Badalwadi. The incident left one voting unit slightly blackened, however, all three apparatus – voting unit, control unit and VVPAT were intact and safe and not affect the electoral process,” Solapur district collector Kumar Ashirwad said, PTI reported.
The collector said the election officials replaced the EVM with a new one to rule out any possibility of doubt. “After replacing the EVM, voting continued peacefully. The person who tried to set fire to the EVM was detained by the police for further investigation,” he said. He said the votes recorded in the affected EVM are intact and can be counted. “Therefore, there is no need to vote again at the electoral college,” PTI reported.
A police officer said the man was carrying a flammable substance and tried to start a fire. He was immediately overpowered by security personnel at the polling station for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. According to the official, the man is a supporter of the Maratha quota, PTI reported.
Voting was held on Tuesday in 11 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In Madha, sitting BJP MP Ranjit Naik-Nimbalkar is locked in a close fight with NCP’s Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil (Sharadchandra Pawar).
(With input from PTI)