New Delhi [India], November 13 (ANI): Taking a dig at the political parties who had alleged manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on many occasions, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Sunil Arora, on Thursday said he was thankful that the issue this time was slow counting.

"I'm thankful to those (political parties) who have not raised doubts about the manipulation of EVM this time," he said after his visit to Rajghat, along with election commissioners, on Thursday.

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When asked about the allegations levelled by the opposition parties in Bihar about irregularities and slow counting to help the ruling National Democratic Alliance, the CEC said that there were only seven people on a counting desk due to COVID-19 as compared to 14 under normal circumstances. "There were an additional 33,000 polling booths and that is why the counting was slow. This time, Bihar had over one lakh polling stations. As much as 63 per cent additional electronic voting machines were used, so counting took time," he said.

The CEC added he thanked Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi for the successful completion of the Bihar polls.

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"This is the first election during this COVID-19 pandemic and the Election Commission took all safety measures to ensure social distancing." (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)