Will be 'logistically ready' to hold simultaneous polls by September 2018, Election Commission tells government
Election Commission would be "logistically equipped" by September 2018 to hold simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and assemblies, Election Commissioner O P Rawat said on Wednesday.
The Election Commission on Wednesday said that it would be "logistically equipped" by September 2018 to hold simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and assemblies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last year pitched for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls, a proposal favoured by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.
Election Commissioner O P Rawat, who launched a web-based application, Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) network, aimed at efficient conduct of elections in Bhopal yesterday said the commission has told the Centre that it would be "logistically equipped" to hold simultaneous polls.
"The Election Commission was asked by the Centre as what it would require for becoming capable of holding the parliamentary and assembly polls together," Rawat said.
"In response, the EC had asked for funds to purchase new EVMs and VVPAT machines. The commission would be logistically equipped by September, 2018, to hold parliamentary and assembly polls together," Rawat told a press conference.
The announcement by the poll panel came days after it issued a formal direction that VVPAT or paper trail machines would be used at polling stations in all future elections where polls are held using EVMs.
40 lakh VVPAT machines by September 2018
Rawat said the commission has already placed the order for the purchase of new EVMs and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines after receiving funds from the Centre.
He said the poll body would get 40 lakh VVPAT machines by September 2018.
Rawat said they had used VVPAT machines in all the recent elections on the directive of the Supreme Court.
VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home. It has only been used on trial basis in some places.
Several parties have been pressing for the use of these machines to dispel doubts about EVM tampering. Sixteen parties had recently petitioned the EC to revert to paper ballot system for greater transparency. The BSP, the AAP and the Congress had attacked the EC on the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs.
Responding to a query, Rawat said the EC had received Rs 3,400 crore for VVPAT machines and Rs 12,000 crore for EVMs.
"We would be logistically ready to hold simultaneous polls by September 2018, but it is up to the government to take a decision and make necessary legal amendments for it," the election commissioner said.
The Prime Minister had in February said simultaneous elections would "cause some loss to all, including us" but political parties should not look at the idea through the narrow prism of politics.
Holding simultaneous polls would mean would require a maximum one-time curtailment or extension of some state assemblies, the Niti Aayog had said in August.
Elections to assemblies in seven states are due in 2018. Gujarat (terms ending on January 22), Himachal Pradesh (January 7); Meghalaya (March 6); Nagaland (March 13); Tripura (March 14); Karnataka (May 28) and Mizoram (December 15).
Electoral Registration Officer network
Rawat said the officers involved in the poll process, right from the booth level to the national level, would be connected through the ERO network. Besides, the facility can also be used for online registration by voters.
"ERO network would automatically detect duplicate registration of voters. Besides, officers from the booth level to the national level would be under one network and would be able to communicate with each other," he said.
Explaining the utility of the app, he said the ERO network would effectively keep a check on duplication.
"At times, voters migrate and get themselves registered at new places. However, they fail to get their name deleted from the previous place, which results in duplication," he added.
Rawat said an error-free electoral roll is the basis for conducting a smooth, free and fair election.
He informed that the poll panel had carried out the "electoral roll purification process" earlier and deleted duplicate registrations of voters. "ERO would make this work more easy," he said.
When asked about the feasibility of an e-voting facility in future, Rawat said, "This (ERO) and the electronically transmitted postal ballot for service voters are the first and second steps towards it (e-voting)".
(With PTI inputs)