Chief Election Commissioner on Wednesday claimed that if the situation arises and parliamentary elections are advanced, the Election Commission was capable of holding the simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and four state assemblies together in December.
He was responding to whether the EC was ready if the LS elections are held in December along with Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan. “Why not? There would not be any problem,” he said.
There have been speculation in some circles that the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for April-May 2019 may be advanced to November-December 2018 so that they can be held simultaneously with Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan.
While the term of the Mizoram Assembly will end on December 15, the terms of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assemblies would end on January 5, 2019 January 7 and January 20, 2019, respectively.
As to whether the required electronic voting machines (EVMs) and paper trail machines would be ready if the LS polls are held in December along with those of four assemblies, the CEC said that while all the required EVMs would be in place by September end, paper trail machines would come in November end.
The CEC explained that out of 17.5 lakh paper trail machines, 16 lakh would be in place before November.
The remaining 1.5 lakh paper trail or voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines would be delivered by the end of November.
While the EC needs EVMs and VVPATs for 10 lakh polling stations for the LS polls, it needs the two devices for two lakh polling stations in four states. “There would be a little constraint on the reserves. Instead of 135 per cent (reserves), will have to go for 130 per cent,” he said.
Poll Ready?
While all required EVMs — 13.95 lakh ballot units and 9.3 lakh control units — will be delivered by September 30, 17.15 lakh VVPATs will also be delivered well before the end of November, the CEC has said.
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