As anti-EVM chorus grows,EC stands its ground

Its only the third time that a poll boycott has been announced in recent times,EC says no reason for AIADMK to be extreme ....

As it announced a boycott on Monday of the Assembly by-elections to be held in August,the AIADMK listed several reasons why it thinks elections will not be free and fair in Tamil Nadu. Many of these had to do with the DMKs alleged ability to amass false victories. But the AIADMK also squarely targeted the Election Commission.

According to the resolution passed by the partys executive committee at Coonoor,presided over by J Jayalalithaa,the AIADMK believes the EVM can be manipulated and suggested the EC is being stubborn in persisting with its use in the face of doubts and controversies in other countries an apprehension also aired by senior BJP leader LK Advani.

Even as it finds itself in the direct line of fire,the EC is anxious not to be seen as locking horns with the political party. We would like to reassure any party that has any reservations about the poll process that we will spare no efforts to conduct a free and fair election. We will take all necessary steps,including those specific to the constituency and state, SY Quraishi,Election Commissioner,told The Indian Express.

There is no reason for any party to take such an extreme view of boycott. As an impartial body,the EC makes all efforts to provide a level playing field to all parties. It is for all political parties to take advantage of it, said his colleague in the Commission,V S Sampath.

But there is concern in the EC,according to sources,about the AIADMKs decision to boycott the by-polls. In recent times,there have been only two instances of a mainstream party announcing a poll boycott in the country the Shiromani Akali Dal boycotted the Assembly polls in Punjab 1992,held as the state was emerging from its long battle with militancy; and the BJP and Nagaland Peoples Front boycotted the 1998 Assembly polls in Nagaland.

In Tamil Nadu,while the political contest has always been bitter,the transition of power has been peaceful. Now the AIADMKs announcement could be a departure from the settled democratic norm.

Quraishi lists the innovations the EC has instituted in the conduct of polls ever since the Thirumangalam by-polls in Tamil Nadu earlier this year in which the AIADMK alleged irregularities. These new measures,used in the Lok Sabha polls,include: micro-observers sent from the Centre in addition to those who have been locally deployed,videographers,vulnerability mapping of constituencies and an improved communication network plan.

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On EVMs,both Election Commissioners deny any second thoughts,though,as Quraishi says,The Commission will take all measures to clear doubts about EVM elections raised by political leaders and individuals.

While other countries including Germany,Italy,the Netherlands and France in which EVMs have stoked controversy use an operating system,sources in the commission point out that the machines being used in India are stand-alone. A one-time programme is burnt into the chip,which is then mechanically soldered into the motherboard. Then,a series of High Court decisions Madras,Karnataka,Bombay and Kerala ,and as upheld by the Supreme Court have backed the reliability of the EVM.

In fact,the AIADMK resolution from Coonoor did not mention a crucial fact: On EVMs,the party has been there,but it failed to do that. In 2001,the AIADMK was a petitioner in a case in the Chennai High Court,seeking direction from the court to the EC not to use EVMs in the ensuing Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu,Puducherry,Kerala and Bengal. In its counter affidavits,the EC elaborated on the design and functioning of EVMs and the voting procedure,and made a case for it on grounds of cost effectiveness,imperviousness to rigging and safety of the machine and its contents.

The High Court dismissed the writ petitions,and expressed its agreement with the ECs contentions. The court concluded: 8230;though this court is not inclined to go into technical aspects,but as argued vehemently,on an overall consideration,we find that no two votes can be cast by a single voter,as every vote is recorded only after releasing the lock by the Polling Officer. Registration of vote is ensured by glowing of the bulb in green. The secrecy is thus maintained.

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The other petitioners in the 2001 case included the PMK and CPI,part of the AIADMK-led alliance that trailed the DMK-led alliance in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

But in the end,the AIADMKs planned poll boycott touches a deeper chord. Election Commissioner V S Sampath recalls that the full Commission went to Chennai before the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls and met all parties,one at a time,to discuss measures to curb electoral malpractices. Some individual complaints were made and looked into,senior officers were even transferred,but no party said it does not have faith in the election machinery he says.