K.V. SEETHARAMAIAH
Once again the losers in the election have started attacking the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) despite the Election Commissioner of India consistently maintaining that EVM has been functioning properly. Leading the attack on EVM, Sanjay Raut says it is not the question of EVM, but it is about the entire system. Defeated Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jagan Mohan Reddy has joined Raut to bat for paper ballot system for “True Democracy”. Is it a tacit admission that his regime was also wedded to ‘False Democracy’ since his party was elected in 2019 with the use of EVM? Reddy found “EVM fine” when he won 151 seats in 2019 and lost trust in it when he won 11 seats in 2024. The statement of Jagan Mohan Reddy “Just as justice should not only be served, but should also appear to have been served” has come after his party suffered heinous defeat in Andhra Pradesh. The EVM system was first introduced in 1998 after reaching consensus in 16 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. It was expanded to 46 Parliamentary seats in 1999. In 2001, the state assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal were conducted with the help of EVMs. In 2004, EVMs were used in all the 543 Parliamentary Constituencies totally replacing the system of papers ballot. 2004 and 2009 saw the defeat of BJP. In fact it is BJP which ought to have grievance over the continued used of EVMs. After the advent of EVMs, almost all the parties have enjoyed success and suffered defeat. Therefore the suspicion on the functioning of EVMs is ill-founded. Section 61A was included in the Representation of People Act 1951. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Section 61A. It is well known that when paper ballot was in force, cases of invalid votes were high and booth-capturing was at its peak. Proximity to free and fair elections was far away compared to voting with EVM system in place. Probably the advocates of EVMs want the ‘lost opportunity’ restored for booth-capturing. Sanjay Singh, AAP wants the Supreme Court and Election Commission to take ‘a drastic decision’ on the EVM issue. When the Supreme Court has upheld the newly added Article 61A of Representation of People Act, the issue is deemed to have been closed. Raising the same issue again and again amounts to lack of respect for the verdict of the top court. Returning officer of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency has reportedly dismissed the allegations of EVM tampering stating that the EVM is a self-contained device and does not require a mobile OTP for unlocking as it is non-programmable. This statement is in response to an allegation that a relative of Ravindra Waikar , the Shiv Sena candidate who won by a narrow margin of just 48 votes was seen using a mobile phone reportedly connected to an EVM during the vote counting on June 4. To buttress the allegation which the EC officials have strongly refuted, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders have made a reference to Mid Day newspaper report which alleged that Mangesh Pandilkar, brother-in-law of Ravindra Waikar used a mobile phone to “unlock” an EVM during the vote count. Rahul Gandhi has called the EVMs ‘black boxes’. Returning officer for Mumbai North West Vandana Suryavanshi has reportedly labelled the Mid-Day newspaper report as false and accordingly a defamation notice is said to have been issued for publication of false news. Truth must come out. The opposition parties have found ground for return of paper ballot system because some other countries are using it. It is the prerogative of the respective countries to use any system of their choice. It cannot be valid ground for India to follow. Who knows if the opposition parties there are demanding EVM system citing India using it? India is also capable of showing path to others. There are 20 countries using the electronic machines. Opinion against EVMs is misleading going by the results seen in the last elections after EVM system was introduced. Had the EVMs been one-sided, only one particular party should have registered victory in all the elections. Opposition parties have registered victory both at centre and in a number of states. Malicious propaganda against EVMs does not work.