Agartala: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the State Election Commission in Tripura to deploy Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the upcoming polls to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
In a letter to State Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury raised concerns over the reported use of older EVM units without VVPAT.
He said findings from the First Level Checking (FLC) process indicated that such machines may be deployed for the April 12 elections.
Chaudhury argued that the use of VVPAT is crucial to maintaining voter confidence, especially amid ongoing debates over the reliability of EVMs.
He also pointed out that despite elections being held in other states, there should be no shortage of updated machines with VVPAT facilities.
The CPI(M) leader called on the commission to ensure that all polling stations are equipped with EVMs integrated with VVPAT for the 28-seat council elections. Counting of votes is scheduled for April 17.
Separately, Chaudhury demanded the registration of an FIR against Tripura Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma over remarks made during a recent rally in Khowai district.
He alleged that the minister's statement-linking votes for Tipra Motha Party to support for the Bharatiya Janata Party, undermines the integrity of the electoral process.