Lok Sabha / Election 2019 LIVE Updates: Poll panel to meet today after Opposition demands VVPAT verification

The Indian Express : May 22, 2019, 01:23 PM
A day after the Opposition parties approached the Election Commission regarding verification of VVPATs, the poll body will meet today to discuss the same. The 22 Opposition leaders drew attention to reports of what they called suspicious EVM movements and demanded verification of VVPAT slips before the counting of votes and not later. The poll body, however, dismissed the allegation adding that the EVMs were “absolutely safe” in strongrooms.

While the Opposition has been informed of the Election Commission’s meeting today, the leaders say they were not very hopeful since the EC’s “body language was not very positive”. The BJP, meanwhile, has called the Opposition move a desperate attempt in the face of certain defeat.

Ahead of the counting tomorrow, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah hosted a dinner for 36 NDA partners in a show of strength. The BJP described it as an occasion to thank ministers for “their service to the nation” before the results are announced tomorrow. The Opposition, meanwhile, is firming up a strategy if NDA falls short of a majority.

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