In a test poll conducted just before the polling began on Tuesday for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Goa, the BJP received 17 votes when 9 votes were cast on an EVM. After Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa chief Elvin Gomes raised the issue, the Goa Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) announced that the EC had changed the machine.

Gomes claimed that during the mock polling, the BJP had received 17 votes even though only 9 votes were cast. He wrote that this was an ‘Election of shame’ and urged the Election Commission to act. “Election of shame ? Mock poll with 9 votes for each of 6 candidates in booth no 31 in 34 AC in Goa. Total count BJP gets 17, Cong 9 , Aap 8. Ind 1 . Robbery. @SpokespersonECI , @CEO_Goa claims are hollow . @AamAadmiParty pl take up,” his tweet read.

Soon after, the Goa Chief Electoral Officer announced that the EC had directed for change of the machines. “Entire set of EVM has been replaced for AC 34, PS No 31 as per report from DEO South Goa,” read the CEO’s tweet.

However, complaints of faulty EVMs are not restricted to Goa. In Karnataka’s Chittapur, there several EVMs were reported to have malfunctioned. Minister for Social Welfare in Government of Karnataka Priyank Kharge wrote on Twitter, “Way too many EVMs are malfunctioning in Chittapur. Over 20 reported so far. Hope the district administration has enough backups.”

Furthermore, in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has alleged that hundreds of EVMs were not functioning in Rampur. Alleging foul play, Abdullah Azam, son of the Samajwadi Party candidate from Rampur, Azam Khan, reportedly claimed that more than 300 EVMs were malfunctioning. The party demanded action from the Election Commission on an immediate basis.