DNA Edit: Never say die - SC order saves potential poll result logjam on D-Day

Even hard boiled and cynical political parties should now be convinced. A last ditch effort by 21 non-NDA parties, for enhanced voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips to be counted, has justifiably failed.

The Supreme Court has dismissed their plea, retaining its earlier order of slip counts of five electronic voting machines (EVMs) per Assembly segment. Opposition parties were looking to persuade the apex court to increase slip counts to 50 per cent of EVMs in each Assembly segment.

The court has taken the view, on the advice of the Election Commission (EC), that it could delay the result inordinately. It is just as well that the apex court has finally laid the controversy to rest. After persistent confirmation by virtually every serving and former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) about the soundness of EVMs, the 21-party Opposition front kept at it.

Nonetheless, following up with the Supreme Court demanding an enhanced paper trail count did pay dividends. The Commission, under the old rules, followed a system of counting VVPAT slips in one polling booth per constituency in the Lok Sabha elections and one polling booth per Assembly segment.

The apex court directed the somewhat reluctant Election Commission to increase by five times the number of EVMs whose vote count must be matched with VVPAT slips in each Assembly segment. On average, it could mean 35-40 VVPAT counts per parliamentary seat.

While the court agreed to that limited delay, as democratic norms demand that any doubt be cleared, an increase of slip counts to 50 per cent would have created a highly avoidable logjam. The apex court has, however, done well to reiterate its confidence in the EC and EVMs.

Such extra counting would have added to the already overloaded Commission, whose job to organise elections on this scale is virtually unprecedented. It would have put its infrastructure under severe strain on May 23, the day of the general election results.

Nonetheless, it would be fair to say that despite the best efforts, chances of unknown glitches cannot be ruled out even now. Opposition leaders, in their wisdom, overlooked the fact that this could stretch longer if candidates demand counting of VVPAT trails for other EVMs, as provided for under Rule 56 (D) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

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 per cent. Even more importantly, there has been no single mismatch in the EVM count and VVPAT slips till date, as EC officials have been at pains to point out. But politicians are die-hard professionals.

Hours after the apex court rejected their petition, a delegation of Opposition leaders appealed to the EC, reiterating their demand. This after the EC had rejected their demands in the first place, before they moved the apex court! The bottom line in politics is, obviously, never to give up.