Re-polling in 13 booths in TN on May 19

Repolling in 13 polling booths in Tamil Nadu on May 19 has been necessitated as the presiding officers there forgot to format the EVMs and there were allegations of some people were not allowed to vote, the state Chief Electoral Officer said on Thursday.

The presiding officers in some polling booths forgot to clear the votes polled in the electronic voting machines (EVM) during the mock polling held before the actual polling or the entry in the voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), CEO Satyabrata Sahoo told media here.

The Election Commission ordered re-poll in order to avoid confusion during the counting of votes, he added.

Sahoo also said there were allegations of one community were not allowed to vote in booths in Pappireddipatti under the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency.

Elections were earlier held in these booths on April 18 as part of single-phase polling for the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state and by-election for 18 Assembly segments.

According to the EC, re-polling will be held in Dharmapuri (eight booths), Theni (two), Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Erode (one booth each).

Sahoo said the unused EVMs were shifted to Theni from Coimbatore on the orders of the EC after following due process.