No crash course on EVMs for Delhiites

With Delhiites now comfortable with the use of electronic voting machines there would be no awareness campaign in the Capital this time round as was the case in several parts of the country where the machines are being used for the first time. “People in the Capital are now familiar with the EVMs,” said the Chief Electoral Officer for Delhi, Arun Goyal. “Having successfully used them without any major hitch in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls and 2003 Delhi Assembly elections, we do not feel the need for any major awareness campaign among the Delhi voters,” he said.

When it comes to the use of EVMs, the Capital has come a long way since it was first used in six constituencies – Gole Market, Kasturba Nagar, Jangpura, Sarojini Nagar, Minto Road and Delhi Cantonment – in the 1998 Delhi Assembly elections and then during the two Assembly by-elections – Nangloi Jat and Hauz Khas – in February 1999. However, it was used in the entire Capital for the first time in 1999 general elections and then for the 2003 Assembly polls. “Ballot papers now have become a thing of the past and have been replaced by user-friendly EVMs,” he said.

Those involved in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls still remember the “massive” awareness campaign launched by the Election Commission and the political parties to appraise the electorate of EVM’s use and its working. As many as 459 demonstration centres were set up by the Election Commission across the Capital in two phases to educate the voters.

Names of these centres were given wide publicity in newspapers and television channels and voters were urged to avail of the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the working of the EVM. Besides running a full-fledged awareness campaign, pamphlets, banners and posters were also distributed so that voters could be made aware of the use of machine.

Political parties and candidates also held exclusive training sessions for the party workers and polling agents. They replaced the traditional slogans, like “Mohar lagegi haat paar”, with “Button dabao haat per”. Political parties prominently displayed dummies of EVMs during their election campaign and leaders, in their speeches, made it a point to raise the issue and urged people to ensure that they pressed the right button. “However the polling parties are being given training on the use of EVMs,” Mr. Goyal said.

“The use of EVMs in rural areas of the country has proved beyond doubt that illiterates can also cast their vote with ease. A voter only has to press the button against the name of the candidate of his/her choice. The button can only be pressed after the Presiding Officer allows him to do so in order to record his vote,” he said, adding that the EVMs have been designed in such a way that not more than five votes can be cast in one minute.

Sharing his experience of successful use of EVMs, Mr. Goyal said: “It is eco-friendly, as it saves tonnes of paper, thus preventing the trees from being cut. It also requires less manpower in conducting the polls. Further it is not only tamper-proof and error free, but also easy to operate,” he said. Unlike the ballot papers, the only recurring expenditure on an EVM is the cost of special 6-volt battery in every election. “This is nominal when compared to the expenditure on ballot papers,” he argued.

However, the only major lacunae of these EVMs seems to be that they cannot be used in case there are more than 64 candidates in fray from one seat. An EVM consists of two units – control unit and balloting units. “While the control unit remains under the presiding officers at the polling station, the ballot unit is kept at the voting compartment,” he explained.