Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

The Election Commission of India introduced Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Indian elections between 1998 and 2001. This initiative brought about a shift from the conventional system of paper ballot voting to the more sophisticated electronic voting. Following charges by the opposition parties regarding the reliability of the EVMs, the Supreme Court directed the EC to include a paper trail to help ascertain the reliable operation of the EVMs. Hence the EC introduced Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) between 2012 and 2013 that will accompany the EVMs and will enable the voters verify their votes. Voting during the upcoming Delhi assembly elections on 9 February 2020 will happen solely through EVMs accompanied by <keyword id="686046" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="VVPAT">VVPAT</keyword> verification procedure. What are the features of EVMs EVMs have ruled out the massive manual work involved in the counting of paper ballot votes which also consumed a lot of time. They also mark a move towards eco-friendly elections as the use of printed ballot slips has been completely eliminated. Some interesting features of the EVMs are given hereunder. <ul><li>EVMs come with an embedded feature to limit the vote casting rate to five per minute. </li><li>They have a security lock close feature</li><li>EVMs also store the electronic voting signatures and thumb impressions to confirm the voter’s identity. </li><li>They feature once write read-only memory and are made with secure manufacturing practices.</li><li>EVMs are battery powered and do not have any networking capability or wireless or wired internet components and interface. </li></ul>What is the use of VVPATs Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) provides feedback to the voters while a ballotless electronic voting system is deployed. VVPATs add a verification system to the EVMs by letting the voters verify if their vote was cast correctly. They provide a paper medium to store the votes in addition to the electronic system used by the EVMs. They also make it possible to arrange for a manual counting of votes if a recount is necessary in case of any arising disputes. How to cast the <keyword id="8631570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="vote-using-evm">vote using EVM</keyword> and VVPAT <ul><li>Enter the polling booth and produce the photo voter slip and a valid ID proof.</li><li>Your name on the electoral roll will be checked and you will be asked to sign on the register.</li><li>The indelible ink mark will be applied on the nail of your left index finger.</li><li>The polling officer will press a button to enable the ballot unit when you move into the polling compartment.</li><li>Choose the name or symbol of the candidate of your choice and press the blue button against it.</li><li>You will see the red light against the name or symbol of the candidate indicating that your vote has been casted.</li><li>The VVPAT will give a print out of a ballot slip that will contain the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate for whom you have casted your vote. You can see the print out through the glass which will be visible for seven seconds. Then it will be cut and dropped inside the drop box with a beep sound. Note that the print out will not be given to you. In case you cannot see the ballot slip and if you happen to hear a loud beep sound, you can approach the presiding officer.</li></ul>

Delhi Election: How to cast the vote using EVM and VVPAT

Following the April 2017 <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/all-you-need-to-know-about-vvpat/article18077550.ece">allegations</a> of the tampering of Electronic Voting Machine (<keyword id="59035" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="evm">EVM</keyword>), around 16 political parties of the country had appealed to the Election Commission of India to bring back ballot papers in the elections. The Election Commission made a note of their grievance. However, ballot papers are considered as an archaic tool and it abounded almost illogical to resort to them once again. Hence the Commission thought of <keyword id="686046" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="VVPAT">VVPAT</keyword> or Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail as a valid way to address the raising concerns. Here is a comparison of <keyword id="4367959" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="evm-and-vvpat">EVM and VVPAT</keyword>. What are EVMs? Expanded as Electronic Voting Machines, EVMs are electronic devices used in the polling booths for letting the electors cast their votes electronically without revealing their identity. There had been a number of complaints about booth capturing. Hence the EC introduced EVMs to replace the conventional ballot system. For the first time in India, EVMs were seen in use in 1982 during the Kerala Assembly Elections. An EVM has two segments: a control unit and the balloting unit. The control unit is managed by the polling officer appointed by the Election Commission. This officer turns the EVM on by pressing the ballot button. The other segment called the balloting unit is placed in the voting compartment. The electors can cast their vote by pressing one of the buttons seen against the names and party symbols of the contesting candidates. What are VVPATs? VVPAT is not a different voting system. It is only an augmented feature of the EVMs. The Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail can give feedback to electors casting their vote. We can say it is a kind of independently working printer machine that enables the voters to check if the vote they casted had gone to the intended contester. The working of VVPATs After casting their votes in the EVM, the voter can press a button in the EVM machine and it prints a paper slip that will reveal the symbol and name of the candidate for whom they have voted. Hence the voters can verify their choice. The ballot slip thus printed will be visible to the voter for about seven seconds through a glass case in the VVPAT. After that, the ballot paper will be cut letting it fall inside the drop box accompanied by a beep sound. Only the polling officers can access the VVPAT machine. The Supreme Court Verdict In 2013, the Supreme Court ordered for the introduction of paper trails in EVMs phase by phase during the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. The Supreme Court had said, "EVMs with VVPAT system ensure the accuracy of the voting system. With an intent to have the fullest transparency in the system and to restore the confidence of the voters, it is necessary to set up EVMs with VVPAT system because vote is nothing but an act of expression which has immense importance in democratic system." There had been a widespread call that the Election Commission introduces VVPAT machines during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

What Is The Difference Between EVMs And VVPAT?

<ul><li>The verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) will be making its national debut at the upcoming general elections in India.</li><li>The VVPAT system was introduced after the Delhi High Court ruled in 2012 that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are not completely tamper-proof.</li><li>The EVMs have also been upgraded for the 2019 general elections to the 'M3' third generation models.</li></ul>While electronic voting machines (EVMs) were introduced to the Indian electoral process in 1989, the verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) will make its debut during the general elections this year. The idea is simple — in order to improve upon the transparency during the voting process, using the VVPAT will allow users to verify that their vote was cast as intended. The new method of vote verification was brought into play after the Delhi High Court <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/EVMs-not-tamper-proof-but-no-paper-trail-Delhi-HC/articleshow/11522072.cms?referral=PM">ruled</a> in 2012 that EVMs are not "tamper-proof." And, even though the court did not direct the Election Commission (EC) to incorporate a paper trail to record the votes, it did suggest that some mechanism should be put in place in order to put doubts to rest. And then in 2013, came the Supreme Court <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-EVMs-to-have-paper-trail/articleshow/11561762.cms?referral=PM">verdict</a> that the EC should employ the VVPAT system so that there would be a way to audit the electronic results. How does VVPAT work? Before casting their ballot, voters should <a href="https://eci.gov.in/files/file/9230-manual-on-electronic-voting-machine-and-vvpat/">check</a> the LED power light on the EVM is green. That means the machine is not busy and ready to record the vote. It's once you've cast your vote, there should a 'beep' to confirm that the vote has been recorded by the machine. The VVPAT will then provide visual verification by printing the serial number, name and party symbol of the candidate that was voted for along with the serial number of the VVPAT unit and the poll session number on a receipt. The display window where the information will appear is sealed, so voters can't physically touch the receipt. And normally, when the machine is not in use, the items behind the window aren't visible and the window appears black. So, it's only when a vote is cast on the EVM, that the light within the viewing window comes on, but only for seven seconds. In that time frame, voters will have to verify that the details are correct before the slip gets cut and falls into the a seal drop box within the VVPAT. According to the EC, the VVPAT can only be attached to the EVM — in fact, it only has the one port — in order to register votes. Since the print runs on a battery pack, like the EVM, it's not dependent on electricity to operate. 
 
 
 <div type="Youtube" id="ZJReQ8ao0SU" title="Know Your EVM" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZJReQ8ao0SU/mqdefault.jpg"></div>







 Even the EVMs are being upgraded to a third generation 'M3' machines, which are said to be tamper proof and have a self-diagnostic system to authenticate whether a machine is genuine or not, according to the EC. "Each EVM can record a button being pressed only after every 12 seconds. If buttons are pressed more often, the EVM will not record any vote. In any 'booth capture' situation, it would take nearly three and a half hours to press the buttons 1,000 times (the typical number of votes for any EVM) and even that assumes the buttons would be pressed rapidly, every 12 seconds exactly. EVMs are simply not a feasible or efficient way to carry out electoral fraud," veteran psephologists Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala wrote in their book 'The Verdict', released on March 15. Mock polls are conducted to ensure that the machines are in optimal working condition and the machines are alloted to the polling booths through an elaborate randomization process so that nobody knows which machine will be at which polling booth until the very last moment. The introduction of the VVPAT system should, ideally, serve as a reassurance for those who fear EVM tampering by political parties. Even though the EC maintains that the EVMs can't be "<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/electronic-voting-machine-tampering-accusations-in-up-local-body-polls-1779349">tinkered</a>" with in any way, there were allegations during the Uttar Pradesh bypolls in May 2018 where voters and some candidates claimed that no matter which button was pressed on the machine, the EVM registered the vote in favour of the BJP. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/jlf-gandhi-vs-modi-bjp-vs-congress-dont-understand-indian-voters/articleshow/67685811.cms">Presidential ego or a dynast's charm — what Indian voters like is still a mystery to the country's politicians</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/general-election-2019-facebook-war-room-in-india/articleshow/68371097.cms">The Indian election might be Facebook's last chance to prove that it can fight fake news and political bias</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/general-elections-2019-model-code-of-conduct-for-political-parties-and-candidates-in-india/articleshow/68358245.cms">India issues 'model code of conduct' for political parties and candidates</a>

Here's how voters can verify their ballots during the world's largest democratic exercise

The Election Commission today assured that polled electronic voting machines (EVM) are ‘absolutely safe in strongrooms’-- reacting to videos on media and social media which show EVMs being transported in private vehicles. “The visuals seen viral on media do not pertain to any EVMs used during the polls,” said EC in a press statement. These series of videos show these machines being tampered in Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Opposition Unites Leaders of several parties like Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) complained to the EC on these alleged movement of electronic voting machines (EVMs) to replace the polled machines in strongrooms. Chandrababu Naidu who is already doing the rounds and gathering steam against Bharatiya Janata Party, is one of the leaders along with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury who is mobilizing parties to meet EC. “The EC is yet to come out with a procedure in case there is a mismatch between the VVPAT and the EVM tally. We want that even for a single mismatch in the VVPAT samples picked for counting and EVMs, all VVPATs in that assembly segment must be counted. This is important to maintain integrity of the electoral process,” Yechury said, according to a <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/lok-sabha-elections/oppn-parties-may-meet-ec-to-demand-evm-tracking/story-e6PJ9EOGW99ZuX7GGcvuRM.html">HT report</a>. EC however has been assuring that its procedures are in place. “The aspersions in clips being used in media merely pertain to the storage or movement of Reserve unused EVMs. However, any case of lapse even in handling of reserve EVMs is thoroughly investigated and disciplinary action taken against the officers responsible,” EC assured in a statement. Exit Poll Effect These allegations which came a day after exit polls, and mostly by opposition parties, could cast a shadow of doubt on Lok Sabha election results, which are to be announced on May 23. A poll of polls predicts a comfortable win for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by PM Narendra Modi. An aggregation of the various exit polls says that NDA would win more than 300 seats in the current Lok Sabha Election, leaving no option for many opposition parties to come together and form a front, in case of a fractured mandate. Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, who had been a career Congress politician and Finance Minister for many years, was one of the many people who<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/elections-2019-pranab-mukherjee-says-concerned-at-reports-of-alleged-tampering-of-voters-verdict-ami-2040695"> </a>expressed concern over alleged ‘tampering of voters’ verdict’. <a href="https://twitter.com/CitiznMukherjee/status/1130767638508949504">https://twitter.com/CitiznMukherjee/status/1130767638508949504</a> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-households-face-a-double-whammy-with-price-hikes-in-milk-and-fuel/articleshow/69424415.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Indian households face a double whammy with price hikes in milk and fuel</a>

Conspiracy theories hound electronic voting machines two days before India’s election results

<ul><li>The world's biggest democracy will vote for the next government from April 11 to May 19.</li><li>The voting will be held in seven phases through 29 states and seven union territories.</li><li>In 2019, Nearly 900 million people are expected to vote to send 543 representatives Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. Elections to four state assemblies will be held simultaneously with the Parliament elections </li></ul>Indians will go to vote in 2019 for the seventeenth time since the first election in 1951-52. The <keyword id="65281" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission-of-India">Election Commission of India</keyword> announced on March 10 (Sunday) that the polling will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The results will be counted on May 23. In a first for the country, voting for the four state legislatures, as well as bypolls, will be held alongside with the election for the Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for simultaneous elections for both state and central legislatures, but the proposal has faced severe political opposition. Nearly 900 million voters are expected to turn out this year, compared to 814.5 million in 2014. The number of polling stations will be increased from 900,000 in 2014 to 1 million this year. 16 million new voters will be between the age of 18 and 19, compared to 23.1 million in 2014. 1.7 million voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be in use after a <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/story/the-many-claims-of-evm-tampering-in-india-1435638-2019-01-21" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">series</a> of allegations of foul play in many state polls in the run up to the general elections in 2019. VVPAT is a second line of independent verification via a printer machine, which is attached to electronic voting machines. When a voter presses the button against the party symbol of their choice on the electronic voting machine (EVM), a paper slip is printed through VVPAT. The slip would contain the poll symbol and name of the candidate and allows voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate. After the voter views the slip, that slip will be dropped inside a sealed box linked to the EVM. "The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect from today itself in the entire country. Any violation will be dealt with in the strictest manner," <keyword id="50926" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chief-election-commissioner">Chief Election Commissioner</keyword> <keyword id="251670" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunil-Arora">Sunil Arora</keyword> said. <table style="width: 268pt;"> </colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup> <tbody><tr> <td class="xl63" style="height:15.0pt;width:74pt">Date of polling</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 75pt;">Constituencies</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 119pt;">States/Union Territories</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">11-Apr</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">91</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">20</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">18-Apr</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">97</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">13</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">23-Apr</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">115</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">14</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">29-Apr</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">71</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">9</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">6-May</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">51</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">7</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">12-May</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">59</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">7</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">19-May</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">59</td> <td class="xl63" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">8</td> </tr></tbody></table> The big question in front of the election watchdog is the campaigning by political parties on social media, which has been difficult to regulate especially after the deadlines set by the Commission. However, the election commissioner did not have a clear answer on how it plans to ensure that vote seeking does not continue on social media in the last 48 hours before the polling begins. Physical campaigning is allowed during this period. Strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir, the northern state that shares the border with Pakistan, will witness polling in five phases amidst heightened security. The armies of the two countries have been trading fire, a lot more than usual in the last few weeks ever since the terror attack in Pulwama, Kashmir that killed over 40 Indian security personnel in February. <table style="width: 341pt;"> </colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup> <tbody><tr> <td class="xl65" style="height:15.0pt;width:145pt">States</td> <td class="xl65" style="border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 196pt;">Polling Dates</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Andaman and Nicobar Islands</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Andhra Pradesh</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Arunachal</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Assam</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Bihar</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29 &amp; May 6, 12, 19</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Chandigarh</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">May 12</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Chhatisgarh</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Dadra and Nagar Haveli</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Daman and Diu</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Delhi</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">May 12</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Goa </td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Gujarat</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Haryana</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">May 12</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Himachal Pradesh</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">May 19</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Jammu Kashmir</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29, &amp; May 6</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Jharkhand</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 29 &amp; May 6, 12, 19</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Karnataka</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 18, 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Kerala</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 23</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Lakshadweep</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Madhya Pradesh</td> <td class="xl68" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, &amp; May 6, 12, 19</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Maharashtra</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29,</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Manipur</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18,</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Meghalaya</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Mizoram</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Nagaland</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Odisha</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29,</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Puducherry</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 18 </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Punjab</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">May 19</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Rajasthan</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 29 &amp; May 6</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Sikkim</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Tamil Nadu</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 18 </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Telengana</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Tripura</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Uttar Pradesh</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29 &amp; May 6, 12</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Uttarakhand</td> <td class="xl67" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl66" style="height: 15pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">West Bengal</td> <td class="xl66" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">April 11, 18, 23, 29 &amp; May 6, 12, 19</td> </tr></tbody></table> See also : <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/facebooks-ad-archive-report-50-facebook-ads-by-bjp/articleshow/68304281.cms">BJP spends too much on political advertising on Facebook as Congress spends too little — yet again</a>

Voting in India's 2019 elections will run from April 11  to May 19 and the results will be counted on May 23

<ul><li>Times NOW-VMR opinion poll released on March 18 pegs unemployment as the biggest concern for over 40% of the voters surveyed </li><li>Loan waivers and sops for farmers followed unemployment as the most defining issue </li><li>Construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and cow protection were the other pressing issues </li><li>The poll predicts that the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win 283 seats. </li></ul>The latest opinion poll released by Times NOW and VMR on March 18 (Monday) has a bittersweet message for political parties across the spectrum. Unemployment has emerged as the biggest issue for the upcoming elections, with over 40.2% of the voters concerned about it. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/255974"></div>
]]></cdata></div>













 This may seem like a setback for the incumbent Narendra Modi government seeking re-election this year but there may be a silver lining for the supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Just as many people--about 40% of those surveyed--feel that the job opportunities have actually improved. Only 24% of the voters feel that job losses may be worse than what is said about it, and the government data is not accurate. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/255979"></div>
]]></cdata></div>



























 In what may be telling picture of voter polarisation, nearly 18% voters rather gave weight to the prospects of building a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, a case that is pending at Supreme Court, which has sought to resolve the matter through mediation. What is worse for the Modi’s rivals, some of the other issues raised by the challengers like the alleged corruption in the procurement of Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault has very little resonance among the voters. Less than 3% of the voters surveyed cared for it. More voters worried about cow protection. The Indian National Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has tried to capitalise on the recent controversies around unemployment data. Evidently, it has failed to make a reasonable dent on the government's image. In January 2019, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-hidden-jobs-survey-in-india-casts-doubt-on-data-integrity-under-narendra-modi-government/articleshow/67750383.cms">a leaked report</a> from the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) alleged that unemployment may be at a 45-year high and the government had stalled the release of the report fearing the damning impact it may have on its electoral fortunes. While the government disputed the NSSO data, a report from the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/indias-unemployment-rate-highest-since-sept-2016-climbs-to-7-2-in-feb-cmie-5613369/" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy</a> released in January said nearly 11 million people lost jobs in 2018, a finding that corroborated the concerns about unemployment. Somehow, none of this seems to be affecting the image of the incumbent government led by Narendra Modi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/general-elections-2019-vvpat-how-to-verify-vote/articleshow/68475130.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Here’s how you can verify your vote using VVPAT</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/is-indias-2019-election-really-a-foregone-conclusion/articleshow/68423465.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Is India's 2019 election really a foregone conclusion?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/jlf-gandhi-vs-modi-bjp-vs-congress-dont-understand-indian-voters/articleshow/67685811.cms">Presidential ego or a dynast's charm — what Indian voters like is still a mystery to the country's politicians</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/general-election-2019-facebook-war-room-in-india/articleshow/68371097.cms">The Indian election might be Facebook's last chance to prove that it can fight fake news and political bias</a>

Modi may not take the fall for rising unemployment in India, latest opinion poll shows

Polling began on Monday morning in 90 assembly constituencies of Haryana and during first over two hours poll percentage in the state was 7.44 per cent. Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, officials said. As per the Election Commission data, brisk polling was going on in many districts. Among other districts, poll percentage in Jind was 7.91 per cent, <keyword id="57750" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhiwani">Bhiwani</keyword> 10.76 pc, Ambala 6.67 pc, Palwal 8.88 pc, Gurgaon 6.40 pc, Faridabad 6.10 pc, Mewat 10.24 pc, Rewari 6.79 pc, <keyword id="49507" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rohtak">Rohtak</keyword> 9.80 pc, Hisar 11 pc and in <keyword id="53970" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnal">Karnal</keyword> district it was 5.92 pc. Panchkula district had the lowest polling percentage at 2.46 pc. As many as 1,169 candidates including 105 women of various political parties are contesting the election. The prominent figures include Chief Minister Manohar Lal <keyword id="900635" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Khattar">Khattar</keyword>, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JJP's Dushyant Chautala and INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala. Haryana's lone woman minister Kavita Jain along with her husband and BJP leader Rajiv Jain and their two children, both first time voters, were among the early voters to cast vote in Sonipat. Chief Minister Khattar was travelling by a Jan Shatabdi train from Chandigarh to to cast his vote in Karnal from where he is seeking re-election. Dushyant Chautala rode a tractor to reach the polling booth in Sirsa along with his wife Meghna and MLA-mother Naina Chautala to cast their votes. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala along with his wife Gayatri exercised their right to franchise in Kaithal while Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja exercised her vote in Sirsa. Wrestler-turned-politician and BJP candidate from <keyword id="80511" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dadri">Dadri</keyword>, Babita Phogat also cast her vote from her native village in Bhiwani along with his father Mahavir Phogat and sister Geeta Phogat. Some contesting candidates also offered prayers at temples and other places of worship before casting their votes. The BJP led by Khattar has set a target of winning 75 seats, while the Congress is hoping to make a comeback following a change in guard in the state. Currently, the BJP has 48 members in the state assembly. As many as 19,578 polling stations have been set, including 13,837 in rural areas, Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana, Anurag Agarwal said. Tight security arrangements have been made and over 75,000 security personnel have been mobilised for the polls, DGP Manoj Yadava said earlier. Over 1.83 crore voters are eligible to vote that includes 85 lakh women, over one lakh service voters and 252 transgenders. This time, out of total eligible voters, over 89 lakh young voters are under 40 years of age and there are also over 3.82 lakh voters, many of them first-timers, who fall in the age group of 18-19 years. As many as 27,611 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines are being used for the polls. CEO Agarwal said that webcasting would be done at 3,100 critical and vulnerable polling stations in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Khattar and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has appealed to people to come out and vote in large numbers. In the polls, Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a breakaway faction of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), is hoping for an improvement in its prospects following the debacle in Lok Sabha election, in which Bharatiya Janata Party had won all the 10 seats in the state. The JJP had emerged on the scene following a feud in the Chautala clan in December last year. The BSP, AAP, INLD-SAD combine, Swaraj India and the Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP) have thrown their hat into the ring, though none of them is fighting on all 90 seats. Prominent amongst those in the contest are Chief Minister Khattar (Karnal), former chief minister and Congress Legislative Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi) and Randeep Singh Surjewala (Kaithal). The BJP has fielded three sportspersons -- Babita Phogat (Dadri), Yogeshwar Dutt (Baroda in Sonipat) and Sandeep Singh (Pehowa) -- besides TikTok star Sonali Phogat (Adampur). Prestige of families of Haryana's famous 'Lals' -- Devi Lal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal, who were former chief ministers--is at stake. Late Bansi Lal's daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhary (Tosham) and son Ranbir Mahendra (Badhra) are contesting as Congress candidates. Devi Lal's great grandson and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan) and granddaughter-in-law Naina Chautala (Badhra) are fighting as JJP candidates. Devi Lal's grandson and former chief minister O P Chautala's son Abhay Singh Chautala is fighting as INLD candidate (from Ellenabad). Late Bhajan Lal's sons Kuldeep Bishnoi (Adampur) and Chander Mohan (Panchkula) are in the fray as Congress nominees. While BJP denied tickets to 12 of its 48 sitting legislators including two Ministers, the Congress retained its sitting legislators while the INLD saw its prominent faces switching over to the BJP, the Congress and the JJP. In the 2014 assembly polls, the BJP for the first time came to power in Haryana on its own winning 47 seats. It won the Jind bypolls earlier this year, taking its total strength in the state assembly to 48. The INLD had 19 MLAs while the Congress has 17 legislators. The BSP and the SAD had bagged one seat each in the last polls while five were Independents.

7.44 pc polling in first two hours in Haryana

55-year old Imran is a watchman in one of the residential buildings in suburban Mumbai. He sleeps on the same chair he sits on to guard the building and uses the common toilet in the parking lot to clean up. He works two shifts a day of 12 hours each, for a total salary of ₹13,500. If he had worked one shift a day, he would have got ₹7,000 a month and would have had to find himself an accommodation. He would rather send nearly all his earnings to his family in a village in Uttar Pradesh than rent a room in Mumbai. Imran was blissfully unaware of the ongoing trend on Twitter where leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and their supporters have prefixed the word 'chowkidar' to their profile names. Chowkidar is the Hindi word for watchman or security guard and it has since become a buzzword on social media. When told about his humble job being at the centre of the country's political discourse ahead of the elections, Imran's first reaction was that of amusement. "Wasn't it chaiwala the last time?" he asked with a smirk and thinly veiled sarcasm. 'Chaiwala' is what Indians call the local tea vendor in Hindi. Modi's claim to fame in the run up to the 2014 elections was that he had worked in his father's tea stall in Gujarat as a child. He used his humble origins effectively as he challenged the country's political royalty-- the Gandhi family which has sent three Prime Ministers in the past-- and caught the fancy of an aspiring voter base. At the same time, a series of corruption charges against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tilted the scale further in Modi's favour and the BJP swept the elections with a majority in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament. This was the first time any party had managed to score a full majority in India's Parliamentary elections since 1984. Modi is banking once again on a strategy that worked for him five years ago. The word 'chowkidar' has been bandied around by BJP leaders pitching Modi as a man of strength but someone who lacks political pedigree. That can hardly be true for a person who has been a politician for over two decades, a chief minister for three terms, and currently, the prime minister seeking re-election. The playbook-- underdog versus the entitled-- is as old as time but no one has claimed the 'underdog' tag effectively after the first surprise. But Modi is giving it another shot And in this battle of catchphrases, Modi may have an upper hand over his rivals. First of all, the move has either distracted or diluted the debate on more pressing issues like the economy, policies, and unemployment. Modi's rivals are essentially talking about things that he wants them to talk about. While charging the government with corruption, senior Congress leaders have tweeted '<keyword id="6895071" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chowkidar-chor-hai">chowkidar chor hai</keyword>' or 'the watchman is the thief'. However, by referring to Modi as the watchman repeatedly, even in slander, the opposition is unwittingly fortifying the image he wants: a strongman of a humble background who is guarding the country not just from adversaries across the borders but also keeping a watch on home-grown muggers looking for a way out to safety. For example, the opposition is mocking Modi citing the government's failure to stop billionaire fugitives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi with unpaid loans and alleged bank frauds to their name from leaving the country. However, even if one of the three are nabbed ahead of the elections, it will be forgotten that each of the three businessmen, with close ties to the BJP in the past, did mysteriously escape from the country. The time spent on countering the chowkidar claim could have been used to question the government on its economic blunders like demonetisation, the troubles of the small enterprises, and the rise in unemployment in the last five years. In the run up to the 2014 elections as well as in every state election thereafter wherever the BJP was the challenger, Modi had, in no uncertain terms, demanded an account of the incumbent government's performance. He would set the agenda and let the party in power respond. The strategy has been so successful that BJP is now in power in 17 out 29 Indian states. Instead of holding him to account for the last five years, his rivals are following Modi's lead in political rhetoric. This hollow, partisan, inconsequential, farcical political debate is a lost opportunity for the opposition. Over a 1,300 kilometres away from Mumbai in Gurgaon, Kabir (name changed on request), gets paid ₹15,000 for a 12-hour shift as a watchman. That's more than twice that of Imran, but it's still not enough for him to run a family comfortably. Kabir had seen the rhetoric around watchmen in India on news television and he saw hope. "The PM is one of us and he will improve our working conditions after he wins the elections," he said. In the words of Emily Dickinson, hope is the thing with feathers. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/elections-2019-latest-opinion-poll-pegs-unemployment-as-the-biggest-issue/articleshow/68475510.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Modi may not take the fall for rising unemployment in India, latest opinion poll shows</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/general-elections-2019-vvpat-how-to-verify-vote/articleshow/68475130.cms">Here’s how you can verify your vote using VVPAT</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/is-indias-2019-election-really-a-foregone-conclusion/articleshow/68423465.cms">Is India's 2019 election really a foregone conclusion?</a>

You Searched For "vote using vvpat" and got 8 results

Delhi Election: How to cast the vote using EVM and VVPAT

BI India Bureau

What Is The Difference Between EVMs And VVPAT?

BI India Bureau

Here's how voters can verify their ballots during the world's largest democratic exercise

Prabhjote Gill

Conspiracy theories hound electronic voting machines two days before India’s election results

Katya Naidu

Voting in India's 2019 elections will run from April 11 to May 19 and the results will be counted on May 23

Sriram Iyer

Modi may not take the fall for rising unemployment in India, latest opinion poll shows

Sriram Iyer

7.44 pc polling in first two hours in Haryana

PTI

The humble security guard at the centre of India’s election debate is a sign that Modi is still setting the agenda

Sriram Iyer

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides