Failure of systems during storage of EVMs post voting is becoming a major cause of worry for the Election Commission. Reports of technical snags in CCTV systems installed inside the storage rooms came from Vidisha and Mandla district headquarters.

The CCTV installed in Vidisha district, home town of CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, went blank for nearly 15 minutes, while the CCTV in Mandla also went non-functional for nearly two hours on December 4.

The Mandla incident was brought to notice by Congress candidate Narayan Singh in a complaint to district election officer. In Vidisha, the incident was reported by Congress leaders when CCTVs installed in strongrooms with EVMs from Sironj and Basoda constituencies did not show footage nearly for an hour and a half. The state Chief Election Officer V.L. Kantha Rao asked for an inquiry report after the matter was brought to his notice.

However, after the incident, Congress candidate from Vidisha Shashank Bhargava hired two private security guards to monitor functioning of CCTV cameras.

Earlier, non-functioning of CCTV cameras inside a strongroom located in Bhopal hit the headlines when there was break in power supply for two hours. After this incident, the Election Commission ordered an inquiry.

Meanwhile, the Jabalpur High Court reserved its order on a petition filed on the malfunctioning of EVMs. Another petition on matching of EVM results and VVPAT slips is pending a decision.