Amid a debate on the EVM credibility re-started by some Opposition parties after the debacle in Maharashtra assembly polls, the Election Commission on November 30 asserted that all poll procedures it followed in Maharashtra were transparent and assured that it would review all legitimate concerns flagged by the Congress, which alleged serious inconsistencies. In its interim response to the party, the commission invited a Congress delegation on December 3 to discuss concerns expressed by it. The Congress has raised with the Election Commission “serious and grave inconsistencies” which it said were being revealed in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently-concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls and sought an in-person hearing to present relevant evidence.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge recently suggested that ballot papers be reintroduced in the election mechanism. Kharge even proposed launching a campaign similar to the Bharat Jodo Yatra to push for ballot paper voting. The opposition parties are demanding that either ballot papers be brought back or all VVPAT slips be counted for the sake of voting transparency. The BJP on November 30, hit back at the Congress for questioning the electoral process, including EVM’s integrity, saying its chief ministers and other elected representatives like Rahul Gandhi should first resign and announce that they will contest only after ballot papers are brought back.
In separate meetings held by the MVA’s three parties last week, the issue of EVM transparency was the central focus. Meanwhile, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray stressed the importance of gathering evidence to substantiate claims of irregularities, and advised their candidates to request audits of 5 per cent of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. Most defeated NCP (SP) candidates blamed alleged EVM tampering for their loss, and said that action was necessary against EVMs, else it would become difficult for them to win elections. The NCP won only 10 of the 86 seats it contested.
However, complaints regarding EVM tampering and irregularities must be substantiated with concrete proof. Recently, the Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a PIL which sought re-introduction of ballot papers in place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) remarking that the machines are blamed only when one loses an election. “What happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose elections, EVMs are tampered (with),” said Justice Vikram Nath presiding over a two-judge bench while dismissing the PIL by evangelist K A Paul. Similarly, in April, reaffirming its faith in the working of EVMs, the Supreme Court had rejected prayers for 100 per cent verification of the votes polled in them with the slips printed by the VVPAT machines, or in the alternate, a return to ballot papers.
