RK Nagar bypoll: Voters wait in long queues due to faulty EVMs, power failure

Chennai: Power cut and EVM failures in high octane RK Nagar byelection made voters wait for hours on Thursday. Severe power cut problem in several polling stations in Korukkupet and Tondiarpet made voters angry.

At a polling station in Harinarayanapuram, power cut became a persistent problem and poll officials struggled to bring power back. Generator deployed at the polling station did not help as officials were not sure about operating it. Though EVMs do not need electricity, dark rooms without lights halted the polling process. Many voters, especially elderly voters, returned to their houses without casting votes. An elderly woman said that she had waited for over two hours but the queue moved slowly. “My legs are hurting,” she said.

Meanwhile, EVMs also caused trouble at various booths that added to voters’ disappointment. At Cheriyan Nagar polling booth, EVM malfunction occurred shortly after polling started. Although the officials rectified the shortcoming, the machine failed again at 10 am to 2 pm. Some voters complained that EVM failure had occurred at Madras port trust (MPT) colony for two hours. “The polling percentage, which is higher when compared to recent polls, would have increased further by 2 to 3 per cent. Many voters left the booths owing to long hours of waiting in the queue,” an election department source said.