The Election Commission (EC) has ordered re-polling at four booths in Madhya Pradesh's Betul Lok Sabha constituency on May 10, following an unfortunate incident involving the damaging of electronic voting machines (EVMs). This decision came after a bus carrying these machines and polling personnel caught fire after the voting was over on Tuesday, an official told news agency PTI.
The incident occurred around 11 PM on Tuesday near Gola village. The bus, transporting election staff and EVMs after the polling activity caught fire, damaging multiple EVMs, as per the official's statement.
There was no casualty reported, Betul Collector Narendra Suryavanshi told PTI.
Following a detailed report submitted by the district administration concerning the fire incident, the EC instructed for re-election at four polling stations within the constituency. The re-polling is slated to take place from 7 am to 6 pm on May 10 (Friday) at these specific booths located under the Multai assembly segment of the parliamentary seat, the official added.
The affected booths include those at Government Integrated High School, Rajapur, Government Integrated High School, Raiyat, Government Primary School Kunda, Raiyat, and Government Integrated High School, Chikhlimal, according to the official.
Investigations suggest that the fire originated from a spark within the bus, resulting in its complete destruction, stated the collector.
At the time of the incident, there were six polling teams and half a dozen EVMs aboard the bus, out of which four machines sustained damage, Suryavanshi informed. The damage on the four EVMs affected either the control unit or the ballot unit, he said.
The Betul Lok Sabha seat recorded an approximate voter turnout of 72.65 per cent on Tuesday, according to a poll official.
Betul was among the nine constituencies in Madhya Pradesh where voting occurred during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The voting for Betul was postponed earlier from April 26 to May 27 after the death of BSP candidate Ashok Bhalavi.