Brand new EVMs and VVPATs have been allotted for Gujarat in view of the Lok Sabha elections while old machines that were used in 2017 Assembly elections in the state have been sent to Bihar and Kerala. “Over 80,300 Ballot Units and 67,000 Control Units that together form EVMs will be used in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat. A total of 67,000 VVPATs will also be used. All the EVMs and VVPATs are brand new and belong to the latest M3 (Model 3) version manufactured by BEL (Bharat Electronics Limited). While EVMs have been sourced from Bengaluru, VVPATs are being sourced from three different manufacturing locations of the company, including Bengaluru, Panchkula and Kotdwara,” official sources in the state government told The Indian Express. While new machines have been allotted for Gujarat, the older machines of M2 (Model 2) — manufactured between 2006 and 2016 — have been sent to Bihar and Kerala for the Lok Sabha polls. “All those machines belonging to ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Limited) have been sent to Kerala, while the machines belonging to BEL have been sent to Bihar,” said an official, adding that over 40,000 EVMs and VVPATs have been sent to each of the two states. This has been done as per the directions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which have directed some states to use brand new machines for the Lok Sabha polls. “In the 2017 Assembly elections in Gujarat, four kinds machines of BEL and ECI were used.The percentage of rejections among the older machines of M2 model during FLCs (First Level Checks) were higher. It was more than five per cent during FLCs conducted for 2017 Assembly elections,” the official said, adding that a buffer stock of these M2 machines is being maintained in the state for Kerala and Bihar. The EVMs and VVPATs used for the 2017 Assembly elections in Gujarat were partly new, while the rest were procured from 73 different locations. The Indian Express in November 2017 had reported that in 2017, a total of 70,182 VVPATs were used, out of which 46,000 units were brand new. The EC had found 3,550 VVPATs defective during the FLCs, while it also found over 5,245 Control Units (from a total of 62,666 units) and 2,907 Ballot Units (from 75,000 units) defective during FLCs and were returned. Meanwhile, in preparation for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, the Election Commission has already finished 54 per cent of the First Level Checks (FLCs) for all the new EVMs that have come to Gujarat. FLCs include not only checking each function of the machines, but also computability between EVMs and VVPATs. “FLCs will end only by February-end,” the official added. VVPATs for four districts, including Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, Gir Somnath and Kutch, are yet to be allotted from BEL for FLCs. Ahmedabad will have the maximum VVPATs totalling to 7,800 units. Over 200 BEL engineers will be visiting Gujarat for organising workshops across the state to train state government officials to conduct FLCs on the VVPATs.
