Pawar expressed concern over the provision of EVMs and said it reflects confusion among election officials. “Instead of arranging the EVMs in alphabetical order, they are placed inconsistently, sometimes ‘D’ is placed before ‘B’ or ‘A’. “This has also created confusion among voters,” he said.

“The biggest problem we face is that voters find that their names are missing from the polling booths. Many ask our party workers where their names have gone. It seems that voters from the same family have been assigned to different polling centres. This appears to be a deliberate attempt to discourage voters from coming to vote. All this is done to favor a particular party. However, no matter what tactics they use, the BJP will not come to power in Pimpri-Chinchwad,” he alleged.

Pawar said BJP workers were seen distributing ballot papers to citizens within 100 meters of polling centres, adding that he now fears losing power.

“At first they claimed that they would win 100 seats, then they increased that number to 125. Now they say that if they can elect a mayor, it will be considered an achievement. This fear led them last night to distribute money in an attempt to influence the voters. However, no matter what they do, the people have decided that the NCP will return to power in Pimpri-Chinchwad,” he said.

However, PCMC election officials reported only minor issues with the EVMs at two to three locations, but said they were resolved in less than half an hour. “Otherwise, no major complaints have been received from any area of ​​the city,” an election official said.