Sudhakar Badgujar, the defeated candidate from Shiv Sena (UBT), raised concerns about the integrity of the election process, alleging that the identification numbers of the EVMs, including the ballot units, control units, and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, were mismatched at seven polling booths. The booths in question were 221, 329, 174, 06, 191, 269, and 306. Badgujar also questioned the replacement of these machines, claiming that neither the candidates nor their representatives were consulted during the process. He further alleged that votes had been cast in the names of deceased individuals, fueling suspicions of electoral fraud.

In response to these allegations, the Election Commission agreed to conduct a recount of the votes from 5 percent of the polling centres, in line with Supreme Court guidelines. Badgujar will have to pay Rs 40,000 plus 18 percent GST per unit to cover the recounting costs. This development has added further tension to an election that was already closely watched, with the contest between Hiray, Badgujar, and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Dinkar Patil drawing significant attention.

A total of 274,208 votes were cast in the constituency, with 147,382 male voters and 126,823 female voters, along with 2,313 postal ballots. Despite the heated contest, Hiray maintained a commanding lead from the first round of vote counting, securing her victory after the final 30^th round.

EVM allegations and official response

Badgujar’s allegations prompted a detailed investigation into the EVM process. On November 23, the District Collector and Returning Officer, Jalaj Sharma, issued a statement dismissing the claims of discrepancies. He had explained that after the second randomization process, the allocation of machines to polling booths was finalised, and the information was shared with all candidates. Reserved machines were given to sector officers on polling day, and any faulty units were replaced in the presence of polling agents.

Sharma emphasised that no objections were raised by the candidates or their agents during the replacement of machines at the polling stations. A thorough scrutiny of the election process, including review of the 17A, 17C forms and the presiding officer’s diary, was conducted on November 21, where no discrepancies were found according to him. Additionally, no objections were raised by the candidates or their representatives during the scrutiny.

Despite this official response, the call for a recount has persisted, with Badgujar determined to ensure the fairness of the election process. The recounting, is reportedly now set to take place in a select number of polling centres, will be closely monitored, as the controversy over the integrity of the voting process continues to unfold.

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