``I don't think I voted at all,'' said one Krishna Devi thoughtfully. ``I have been voting for the last three decades. But I have never seen such a thing as pushing a button''.

Kursheed Ali, voting in the Kaka Nagar area of Minto Road, was extremely suspicious of the genuineness of the machines. ``I don't think our votes are getting recorded anywhere. What if someone just tampers with the final record? There seems to be large scope for mischief here,'' he said. With her eyesight fading, Narmada Joshi, who was standing next to Ali found the machines a blessing. ``I can see the symbol and the switch. In the previous elections, I could not even figure out if my ballot paper was marked or not,'' she said.

At Minto Road, the machine was being put to other uses. Candidates of various parties were indoctrinating voters which number switch to press. ``We have been asked to press number three. This is easier,'' said Kamala Devi, about to go in for polling near Nizamuddin.

In Sarojini Nagar, Ajit Chakravorty was a happy man. ``This is faster. The queues are shorter, and we can do other things on a holiday''.