Even as the Law Commission is now close to finalising its report on the conduct of simultaneous polls, the Election Commission (EC), in its meeting with members of the law panel earlier this year, is learnt to have underlined the need for a “definite lead time” of up to a year before implementation, citing “steep” logistical challenges in manufacturing voting machines. As first reported by The Indian Express on September 27, the Law Commission, headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, is likely to support the idea of holding elections to Parliament and all state assemblies together. It is likely to suggest tentative timelines for 2024 to set the ball rolling by holding some state assembly elections with the Lok Sabha elections, and build that up to full-fledged simultaneity in 2029. Sources told The Indian Express that in its feedback to the law panel earlier this year regarding the feasibility of conducting simultaneous polls, the EC flagged concerns about the global shortage of semiconductors and chips, which is an essential component for manufacturing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) & Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (or VVPAT) machines. This shortage posed significant challenges in meeting the EC's additional voting machine requirements (about 4 lakh) for just the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, not taking into account the additional number required for conducting all elections together. “They (EC) felt that a definite lead time of up to a year would be required for ramping up the voting machine production lines, keeping in view the current commitments of the two manufacturers (Bharat Electronic Ltd. and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd). Moreover, the shortage of semiconductors, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, has further messed up the timelines for EVM procurement,” said a source who did not want to be identified. This isn't the first time the EC has raised concerns about production challenges related to the semiconductor shortage. Earlier this year, in its submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice, the poll panel attributed its inability to spend over 80 per cent of the budget allocated for procuring EVMs in 2022-2023, till January 31, to the global shortage of semiconductors, which resulted in delays in the machine manufacturing process. The EC is firmly against roping in private manufacturers to increase production capacity, fearing potential damage to the credibility of the electoral process and public faith. The EC has provided estimates to the Law Commission on the additional number of EVMs and VVPAT machines it would require if assembly and Lok Sabha polls are held simultaneously in 2024 and 2029. A voting machine essentially consists of three parts: a control unit, a ballot unit, and a VVPAT. For 2024, an additional 11.49 lakh control units (which initiate the voting process), 15.97 lakh ballot units (on which voters casts their vote), and 12.37 lakh VVPATs (which produce a printout post-voting to verify the voter's choice) will be needed, with an additional cost of approximately Rs 5,200 crore. If elections were to be held simultaneously in 2029, the EC would require a total of 53.76 lakh ballot units, 38.67 lakh control units, and 41.65 lakh VVPATs. The anticipated shortfall is 26.55 lakh ballot units, 17.78 lakh control units and 17.79 lakh VVPATs, for which the government would need to allocate close to Rs 8,000 crore. The increased demand for voting machines and VVPATs in 2029 is due to the growing number of voters and polling stations. The latter is expected to increase from 11.8 lakh in 2024 to 13.57 lakh in 2029.
