Guna (Madhya Pradesh): Pankaj Kaneria, the Congress candidate from the Guna assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday demanded that postal ballots be kept in the same strongroom where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been kept.
A day earlier, the Congress had submitted a memorandum to the state's chief electoral officer seeking action against the Balaghat collector for allegedly taking postal ballots out of the strongroom.
The state went to the polls on November 17, while counting of votes will be held on December 3.
In a letter to Guna collector and returning officer Tarun Rathi, Kaneria took exception to postal ballots being kept at the government treasury.
Candidates of various parties are keeping a watch on the strongroom where EVMs are kept, and the safety of postal ballots will be ensured if they too are kept there, he said.
Collector Rathi said he would look into the application.
As per the directives of the Election Commission of India, the strongroom where postal ballots are kept will be opened at 4 pm on December 2 after informing the candidates and political parties, he said.
The ballots will be then shifted to the strongroom where the EVMs are kept before they are opened on December 3.
