DNA Edit: EVM scapegoat - Opposition parties frustrated over losing election

It is difficult to persuade cynical opposition parties, particularly when they have been vanquished at the polls. No one can convince them that they lost the 2019 general election because voters decided to back the incumbent — as simple as that. 

Thwarted at every attempt to find a scapegoat, they are threatening to resort to a previously unheard of gimmick — boycott of polls. After getting no relief from either the Election Commission or the Supreme Court on their petitions about the alleged misuse of “doubtful” electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition parties are gearing up to launch yet another big battle.

The charge is being led by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has consistently blamed the EVMs for the BJP’s stunning victory in the Lok Sabha elections and called for use of ballot boxes. It is backed by the Congress, which plans to convene a meeting of opposition parties to discuss the future course of action on EVMs after the Budget session.

The point is where do we go from here, when everything has failed? A last ditch effort by 21 non-NDA parties for enhanced voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips to be counted, flopped just before the elections. The Supreme Court dismissed their plea, retaining its earlier order of slip counts of five EVMs per assembly segment.

Before the apex court verdict, confirmation by virtually every serving and former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) about the soundness of EVMs, should have helped, but it hasn’t. A sample survey by the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)-led experts has said that counting of VVPAT slips of 479 EVMs from a total of 13.5 lakh EVMs ensured a voter confidence of 99.9%!

Even more important, there has been no single mismatch in the EVM count and VVPAT slips till date.