Lok Sabha elections: Supriya Sule says CCTVs in Baramati godown with EVMs switched off for 45 minutes

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule alleged on Monday that after the voting in the Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency ended on Monday, CCTV cameras installed in the godown, where the EVMs are kept, were switched off for 45 minutes.

However, the election authorities clarified that a cable of the cameras had to be removed for a short period during some electrical work on the premises in the morning, news agency PTI reported.

Terming the purported incident a "very serious" issue, Sule said in a post on X, "It is suspicious that the CCTV is switched off where a very important thing like EVM is kept."

She further alleged that when election representatives contacted the concerned authorities and administration regarding the matter, "no satisfactory answers were received".

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"Even our representatives are not allowed to inspect the EVM status," Sule said, adding that a technician was also not available at the location where the incident was reported. 

"This is very serious. The Election Commission should immediately take notice of this and announce the reasons why the CCTV was closed. Apart from this, appropriate action should be taken against those responsible for the incident," Sule added.

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The Baramati Lok Sabha constituency went to polls in the third phase of elections on May 7. The seat is witnessing a contest between NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and NCP leader Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar.

Election authorities clarify

Baramati returning officer Kavita Dwivedi was quoted by PTI as saying that the party's claim was investigated, and it was found that an electrician at the godown had removed a cable, which caused the display unit to be shut down.

“All cameras in the premises were functional, and the data was intact,” she said.

Laxmikant Khabiya, the election representative of Baramati candidate Supriya Sule, said, " The administration has come up with a clarification, but we will submit an application to the returning officer of Baramati."