New Delhi, Dec 2 (IT): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has admitted that a strongroom in Bhopal faced a blackout on Friday (November 30) after a power cut in the area, following concerns raised by the Congress party over EVM-malfunctioning in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Releasing a statement on the incident, the ECI admitted that CCTV cameras in the strongroom did not work for over an hour.

"A report obtained from the Bhopal Collector states that CCTV cameras and an LED display installed outside the strongroom did not function from 8.19 am to 9.35 am on November 30 due to the failure of electricity supply. Because of this, the recording could not be done during the given time period. An additional LED screen, an inverter and a generator have been installed in order to ensure continuous electricity supply," the poll body said in a statement.

The ECI confirmed that cameras in the strongroom are functional now.

Fearing tampering of the machines, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers had been patrolling the strongroom in old Bhopal jail since Friday in shifts. President of Congress's Madhya Pradesh unit Kamal Nath appealed his party candidates to monitor the EVMs till December 11, the day of result declaration.

Bhopal DIG Dharmendra Choudhary, however, assured Congress and AAP workers that the EVMs kept inside the strong room were secure. He said that the EVMs were given a three-layer security cover and no one could enter the area without signing at the gate.

EVMs stored in unmarked vehicle

Forty-eight hours after the closing of polls in Madhya Pradesh, a school bus bearing no number plate and carrying EVMs reached the Sagar district collector's office. "This incident is a clear case of certain parties and individuals engaging in corrupt practices to manipulate the outcome of the recently concluded election," Congress said.

The ECI said the machines were of the reserve category and were meant to be back-up. However, the poll body said that the official responsible for delivering the reserve machines on time had been suspended.

"There has not been any tampering whatsoever with the machines. The responsible Nayab Tehsildar Rajesh Mehra has been suspended for the delayed submission of the machines," the commission said in the statement.

Congress lawmaker Vivek Tankha claimed, "The objective of this was ostensibly to deposit these machines with the office of the collector. These spare EVMs were to be deposited two hours after the polls and not after two days. This happened in the Khuria seat from where the state home minister is contesting the polls."

EVMs found in hotel room

In another incident that has raised suspicion over the fair nature of polls, EVMs were found in a hotel allegedly belonging to a BJP supporter in Shajapur, a day before polling took place in MP.

The ECI confirmed that a team of poll officials had checked in to the hotel room, against the instructions of the commission.

It said that the officials had been replaced and no evidence of tampering was found in the machines. Two officials have been suspended in the incident. The EC also confirmed that the machines were not used in polling.

Congress moves EC

A delegation of senior Congress leaders met the poll body and raised concerns over the security of EVMs inside strongrooms, on Saturday.

The Congress party also alleged an organised attempt by the BJP to try and subvert the mandate of the people and urged the poll panel to take cognisance of these extremely alarming incidents. In two separate memoranda submitted to the poll panel, the party delegation demanded that necessary steps be taken for preventing manipulation of results and to ensure that the counting of votes and other related processes were free from interference in the two states.

"Now what were EVMs doing in hotel rooms? After an election is over, an EVM is supposed to be kept in the strong room. Rather than the strong room, it was found in a hotel room. On one hand, the Election Commission says that officers have been suspended, on the other, the State Election Commission says EVMs have not been tampered with," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

"The fact that they are in an unauthorised place is evidence of tampering itself," he asserted.

Senior party leader Ahmed Patel suggested to the ECI that it should allow representatives of all political parties to accompany officials transporting EVMs to counting centres from strong rooms, cross check if postal ballots were received from eligible voters.

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi alleged that in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district there were discrepancies such as erroneous deletion of names of voters on booth number 44.

He said glaring anomalies were found in 98 of 100 forms on this booth and names of people of a particular community were deleted, so they could not vote against the ruling party.

The party also expressed concern over the security of election strongrooms saying the presence of unauthorised individuals in and around the strongrooms leaves the machines and the result vulnerable to manipulation.

Talking to reporters after meeting the Election Commission, AICC's Chhattisgarh in-charge PL Punia said suspicious activities were reported in Dhamtari constituency.

He claimed people with laptops and mobile phones were seen roaming around strongrooms, where Electronic Voting Machines were kept after polling, on the pretext of repairing CCTVs.

The party has filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer in Raipur regarding this, Punia said.