In a peculiar turn of events, the CCTV system in an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) strongroom for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency reportedly went offline for approximately 45 minutes, sparking outcry from the Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday.
"The sudden blackout of the CCTV, traditionally seen as a neutral observer, is deeply concerning," remarked NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule, who is contesting for the Baramati seat against her sister-in-law, Sunetra A. Pawar, wife of NCP chief Ajit Pawar.
The Baramati LS elections were conducted on May 7 as part of the third phase of polling alongside 10 other constituencies. Subsequently, all EVMs from across the constituency were transferred to a secure strongroom pending the vote count scheduled for June 4.
The issue came to light when an NCP (SP) worker the purported breakdown of the CCTV – long considered a ‘neutral third-party eye’ – this morning in the EVMs warehouse, prompting immediate concern and subsequent complaints to local authorities and party leaders.
Expressing frustration, Sule took to social media, stating, "It is highly suspicious that the CCTV was inactive in a crucial area housing EVMs. This represents a significant oversight on the part of the authorities."
Despite bringing the matter to the attention of relevant officials and administration, Sule claimed “they did not get any satisfactory reply.”
“Besides, there was no technician available at the place, our representatives were not allowed to inspect the EVM’s status. This is very serious and suspicious,” said Sule, daughter of NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar.
Demanding swift action from the Election Commission of India (ECI), Sule urged transparency regarding the reason behind the CCTV outage and urged accountability for the lapse.
As of now, there has been no response from Sunetra A. Pawar's camp regarding the allegations, which come a week after the fiercely contested polls between the prominent members of the Pawar family.
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