Man tries to set EVM on fire in Sangola, polling unaffected: Solapur District Magistrate

Solapur (Maharashtra) [India], May 7 (ANI): As India saw its third phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on Tuesday, a man tried to set an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) on fire in Sangola city at polling booth number 86, an official said.
District Magistrate of Solapur, Kumar Ashirwad informed that they replaced the EVM machines after the incident adding that the control units of the original EVM machine were intact and therefore the votes recorded in it can be counted.
"In Sangola city at polling booth number 86 a voter tried to set fire to an EVM machine. The three ballot units looked a little black but they are intact. The control unit & VVPAT are also intact. We replaced the EVM machines, we conducted a mock poll on new EVM machines and the voting process started on the new EVM machines. The polling process started peacefully there. The control units of the original EVM machine were intact and therefore the votes recorded in it can be counted," Ashirwad said.
He further said that there has been no impact on the polling process and there's no need for re-polling.
"There has been no impact on the polling process. There is no need for re-polling. Action will be taken by the police against the person who did this," the DM said.
Maharashtra recorded the lowest voter turnout of 53.95 per cent in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, according to the latest data issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In this phase, more than 1300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray. A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their franchise in this phase at 1.85 lakh polling stations.
Prominent leaders contesting today's poll battle included Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, among others.
In the 2019 general election, the BJP won 72 of the 93 seats that go to the polls today.
Voting will not take place for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the polling to the sixth phase to be held on May 25. Originally, voting was scheduled to be held on 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase.
The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4. (ANI)