Maharashtra: Political turmoil over new PADU machine in BMC elections, opposition raised questions on Election Commission’s decision.

digital desk- Before the Municipal Corporation elections in Maharashtra, a decision of the Election Commission has intensified the political stir. Opposition parties have raised questions regarding the use of the new Printing Auxiliary Display Unit i.e. ‘PADU’ machine with EVMs. In particular, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has expressed serious objection to the use of this new machine. They allege that implementing such a new system just before the elections without informing the political parties creates suspicion. Voting is to be held in 29 municipal corporations of the state including Mumbai on Thursday. During this voting process, the Election Commission has decided to use PADU machines along with EVMs. The Commission says that this machine will not affect the voting results in any way nor will it issue paper receipts like VVPAT. Despite this, opposition parties are raising questions on the intentions of the commission.

PADU machine was neither used before nor publicly demonstrated – Raj Thackeray

Raj Thackeray gave a strong reaction to the use of PADU machine in Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. He said that neither the political parties were informed about this new machine in advance nor any public demonstration of it was made. Thackeray expressed apprehension that when EVMs have already been in controversies, bringing in a new machine just before the elections raises questions on transparency. After Raj Thackeray’s allegations, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani immediately tried to clarify the situation by holding a press conference. He told that the PADU machine is not a new voting machine, but it is an auxiliary display unit connected to the control unit of the EVM. The full name of PADU is ‘Printing Auxiliary Display Unit’. Its main purpose is to serve as a backup in case of technical failure in the display of the control unit.

Working of clear machine

Gagrani clarified that PADU machine is completely different from VVPAT. This will not yield any kind of paper slip or receipt. It will be used to display information on a large screen during voting, making the voting process more clear and organized. He said that this is only an auxiliary tool and does not change the basic process of voting. According to the Election Commission, the PADU machine has been manufactured by public sector company BHEL. A total of 140 PADU units have been called for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. These machines will remain with the EVMs at polling stations, but will be used only in emergency situations when the display of the control unit stops working.

Circle regarding election campaign also

However, Raj Thackeray was not limited to only PADU machine. He also raised questions on the rules related to election campaign. Thackeray alleged that allowing door-to-door campaigning till polling day was against the democratic process. He asked why such rules are not applicable in Assembly or Lok Sabha elections and why they were changed in Municipal Corporation elections only. Raj Thackeray said that EVMs are already old and now new machines are being introduced, about which neither the public nor the political parties are aware. He alleged that political parties were not even shown demos of these machines, which was creating a situation of confusion and distrust.