The first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Assam is over and to the state’s credit polling was peaceful and the turnout too was encouraging. The elections will end in Assam after the third phase on May 7 while the exercise will continue across several parts of the country till June 1 before the dawn of that suspense-filled day on June 4 when counting will be taken up. Going by the first phase, the Election Commission of India can probably take some pride at the percentage of polling although more would always be welcome; the Election Commision would, however, know there will be a section of voters who are reluctant to participate because they are sceptical of the quality of candidates on offer, and they wouldn’t even take the trouble of spending time to go all the way to the polling booths to vent their disillusionment on the Electronic Voting Machine by pressing the NOTA (None of the Above) button. This is something the Election Commission can do little about. But it is not only about candidates worthy of such voters not being there; at times even the issues raised by the contending political parties may not arouse much interest, sidestep that they do people’s day-to-day concerns which are a matter of greater importance for them.
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As the elections unfold and head for the day of revelation, the Supreme Court is seized of an issue that is considered grave and one which can have a bearing on the process of counting of votes. The apex court has just finished hearing arguments on petitions that seek 100 per cent verification of EVM data with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit trail (VVPAT) to cancel out any possible foul play. At present, VVPAT verification is done only for votes recorded in five randomly selected EVMs in each assembly segment. The petitioners, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and one Arun Kumar Agarwal have highlighted the voter’s fundamental right to information about his vote, whether the vote had gone where it was intended to go. One counsel for the petitioners has even asked to return to the days of ballot papers, which the Election Commission has described would be a retrograde step; even the court has observed that if left untampered by human interference the machine is the best bet for foolproof counting of votes. Opposition political parties have from time to time objected to use of EVMs, particularly after losing elections, while leaving themselves open to the charge of double standard by keeping conveniently quiet after winning. These parties, like counsels for the petitioners during the course of the hearing in the court, cite the examples of “advanced countries” having returned to ballot papers for voting in their countries. Even this does not appear to have washed with the judges hearing the petitions. Be that as it may, now that the matter is with the top court of the country it is only to be expected that the last will be heard on the issue sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, it is only to be hoped that the entire process of election will go on smoothly and the right candidates will win to constitute the eighteenth Lok Sabha.
