Glitches in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were reported in several areas on Tuesday, April 23, during the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, in a tweet, alleged that EVMs “across India” were “malfunctioning or voting for the BJP,” terming this “criminal negligence.”
At around 10:30am, The Hindu, in its live election updates, reported that polling had been paused at a centre in the Hrisyanmukh area in the East Tripura constituency because of issues with EVMs. A similar situation had occurred at another polling place in East Tripura, the Anath Choudhury Para booth in Asharambari, The Hindu said.
Moreover, The Hindu noted that, as of 10:30am, polling had still not begun at Bhagyapur and Jubaraj Nagar, both polling stations in Dharmanagar, also in East Tripura. Per election officials, the EVMs were being replaced after glitches were reported. Pragya Debbarman, the Congress candidate in the East Tripura constituency had made allegations of votes being rigged at multiple polling stations, per The Hindu, which said that Debbarman had said that he had filed a complaint with election observers.
The Hindu also reported that 20 families in the North Durgapur village in the Khowai sub-division, which is also in the East Tripura constituency, had boycotted the Lok Sabha polls after a local youth was allegedly assaulted by paramilitary personnel on Tuesday morning.
While Tripura West went to the polls on April 11, polling for Tripura East was initially scheduled for Thursday, April 18. However, it was then postponed to Tuesday, April 23, with the Election Commission saying that the “prevailing law and order situation” was not “conducive to holding free and fair polls.” Reports said supporters of the CPI(M) received threats, including severed chicken heads and handwritten notes at their residences.