Electronic voting machines (EVMs) have achieved greater currency in our electoral discourse. Since they were introduced after the 1999 general elections, these machines had raised expectations of political parties as well as the electorate of fair elections. For the past one and half decades, the sanctity of the machines remained beyond questioning. Now, with a party in power at the Centre which is desirous of winning every single election and non-compromising in its efforts to achieve that goal, the prey is obviously the EVM.
In recent times, EVMs have been subjected to various controversies, both inside as well as outside the courts of law. Several political parties have expressed doubts regarding the credibility of the EVMs. This has intensified soon after the results of the Assembly elections in five states were declared on March22, 2017, especially Uttar Pradesh.
From Mayawati to Kejriwal, everyone has been crying hoarse over the alleged manipulation of EVMs to favour BJP. Many Opposition parties led a delegation to the Election Commission on April 10 urging the poll panel to revert to paper ballots, arguing that tinkering allegations have resulted in a ‘trust deficit’ on the consistency of electronic voting machines. A number of these political parties even threatened to seek legal course if their demand was not considered.
Realising that the issue was snowballing, the Election Commission convened an all-party meeting May 12 to convince the political leaders of the steadfastness of the EVMs and also assured that henceforth all voting machines would be equipped with VVPAT (Voter-verifiable paper audit trail) to enable the electorate to verify votes cast by them in all future elections. The EC also used the opportunity to throw a formal challenge to the political parties to prove that the EVMs used in the recently held elections were vulnerable to “tampering.”
It is, however, unlikely that the assurances of the Election Commission will put the issue to rest, as some political parties are not only raising doubts about the reliability of the EVMs, but also questioning the credibility of the commission itself. Sadly, this is probably the first time ever that the EC is coming under a cloud of suspicion. Rumours are afloat that the Modi government intends to put at least two Election Commissioners who are known to have a RSS background. This is believable since 2019 general election does not look as if it will be hunky dory for the BJP.
Many parties are raising doubts over the reliability of EVMs despite the EC’s reaffirmations. This is evident from the EVM tampering allegations made by Shrikant Ganpat, an independent candidate in the recently held Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. Ganpat claimed he did not receive a single vote, despite voting for himself. A subsequent inquiry into the matter by the commission revealed Ganpat was registered as a voter in two polling booths in the ward 164 in Saki Naka constituency and he did not get “zero” votes at either booth. This later thought on the part of the EC certainly confuses the defeated candidate’s claim and so points the needle of suspicion towards the EVMs.
No right thinking Indian would support the demand to re-introduce ballot papers, as it would certainly push the country’s electoral system back a few decades. It is necessary to strengthen the EC and appoint non-partisan executives in it. Admittedly, it is very difficult to locate any single Indian who would be truthful and honest to safeguard the system from tampering. As a race, we have always made efforts at bypassing or disobeying any system. This has resulted in breaking down of all systems in this country. In the present context, we have watched the Reserve Bank crumble and collapse, as also the institution of Comptroller and Auditor General. It is no surprise that after making a mockery of the Central Bureau of Investigation and forcing the Association of Chartered Accountants to support demonetisation of November 2016, this government is hell bent on making the Election Commission a twisted outfit.
