Electronic Voting Machines being treated like 'football': Chief Election Commissioner

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Lucknow: Electronic voting machines are being treated like "football", Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said Friday in the wake of political parties expressing apprehensions on the working of EVMs.
The CEC is in the Uttar Pradesh capital for the past two days to review poll preparations in the state.

"EVMs are being used for the past over two decades. If we take results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls into account, the results of the Delhi assembly polls four months after, it were different. 

"We have made EVMs football, knowingly or unknowingly... If result is X, then EVMs are okay, and if it is Y, then the EVMs are faulty," Arora said.

He was also asked about the Election Commission's view on the apprehensions raised by political parties over the functioning of EVMs.

"We have taken congnisance of sentiments of people and started the use of VVPAT (Voter verifiable paper audit trail ). There were some problems initially, but arrangements have been made (for its use)," Arora said.
Defending the use of EVMs, the CEC said that "these (EVMs) are made by highly secure companies -- Bharate Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which are involved in making defence equipment."

He said a technical advisory committee is there to keep an eye on EVM arrangements. 

"It has decisive powers, which even the EC did not have. This committee has the best of scientists. Therefore, there are no chances of doubts," Arora said.