Sat Mar 01 19:40:25 UTC 2025: ## Congress Legislator Challenges Haryana Municipal Polls Over Lack of VVPAT-Enabled EVMs

**Chandigarh, March 2, 2025** – A controversy has erupted in Haryana ahead of the state’s municipal elections over the lack of electronic voting machines (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems. Former Congress legislator and Gurugram poll in-charge, Karan Dalal, wrote to the Haryana Governor on Saturday, urging him to intervene and mandate the use of paper ballots instead.

Dalal’s letter cites recent Supreme Court judgments emphasizing the importance of VVPAT preservation for post-election verification. He points to Uttarakhand’s use of paper ballots in similar situations and criticizes the State Election Commission’s (SEC) decision to use EVMs without VVPAT, citing a shortage of compatible machines as the reason.

The SEC’s explanation, provided by State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh, is that the available M2-type EVMs are incompatible with VVPAT technology, which is only supported by the M3-type EVMs used in general and assembly elections. Mr. Singh stated that the SEC lacks the authority to procure its own machines.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini’s press secretary, Praveen Attrey, criticized the Congress for raising concerns only a day before the polls, suggesting they should have pursued legal action earlier. The situation remains tense as the municipal elections proceed without VVPAT-enabled EVMs.

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