Kerala CEO denies EVM glitches in Kovalam booth

Kovalam: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala has denied reports of technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in a booth in Kovalam which falls under the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

CEO Teeka Ram Meena on Tuesday clarified that news about every vote cast against the hand symbol of Congress was showing lotus symbol on EVM at booth number 151 in Kovalam is false.

"There is a piece of false news spreading that 151 polling booth in Kovalam that every vote is being cast for lotus. Every media is carrying the news similar to the one that happened in Andhra Pradesh (AP). We double checked and no such thing is happening," said Meena.

In Kerala, as many as 227 candidates are contesting on all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Wayanad constituency is considered the main focus as Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting from this seat for the first time. He is in the fray with 19 other candidates.

Besides Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, elections are underway in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kollam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadakara, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alanthur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara and Pathanamthitta.