New Delhi, Suspecting loss of election data due to extreme conditions from Lahaul-Spiti district to Bhuntar town in Kullu district, the Election Commission has airlifted 89 electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The low temperatures may have affected the functioning of EVMs as the temperature in Keylong, where they were kept, has already dipped below freezing point. Keylong recorded the minimum of -1.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, which is expected to dip much further down to -15 degrees Celsius by 20 December, the date slated for counting votes. So, along with EVM airlifting, the site for vote counting has also been changed to Bhuntar instead of Keylong.
The minimum temperature would be below zero by several degrees. There was concern that in such climatic conditions, EVMs would not work properly or could lose the battery charge. In 2007 elections too, counting of votes had taken place outside the district for the same reason.
