Dated November 25, 2002
The Economic Times - Online Edition

The 2004 general elections to Parliament will entirely be conducted using electronic voting machines.

Some one million EVMs will be put into service countrywide to elect the new Parliament. Since the previous year, the Election Commission has started augmenting the total stock of EVMs, said Shri. J.M. Lyngdoh, Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Speaking at the second day of the international conference on "Building Effective eGovernance," organized by MGSIPAP and the British Council here today, Shri. Lyngdoh said by the time the next general elections are held "adequate EVMs will be available."

EVMs were introduced in a small numbers on a pilot basis in 1990 whereas these were used on a large-scale during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections when 60,000 machines were pressed into service covering 45 parliamentary constituencies.

Then in 2000, EVMs were used to cover the entire state of Goa followed by the elections in toto in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2001. EVMs have also been used successfully in places as remote as Bastar and Ladhakh.

Now EVMs will be used in all future elections and by-elections. Each EVM would cost the exchequer around Rs. 10,000.

Referring to the electoral rolls as the commission's another major eGoverance initiative, he said updating electoral rolls all over the country is an operation as big as and involves as many civil functionaries as a general election to Parliament. The commission has decided to computerize the rolls countrywide.

Talking about Gujarat elections scheduled for early next month, he said the commission was in constant touch with the Gujarat Chief Secretary and other high-ranking officials.

There are about 635m enrolled electors all over the country. The rolls are prepared polling wise and are thus organized into some 7.50 lakh parts covering 4,120 assembly constituencies. They are maintained in about 600 locations. When printed on paper, though, the rolls around some 150m A-4 size sheets.

While these are in 14 Indian languages and 10 scripts excluding English, the annual update undertaken by the commission results in about a 2 per cent increase. While 5 per cent electors leave the roll about 7 per cent enter the roll. Thus, the annual change involved is about 12%.

Shri. Lyngdoh said CDs in respect of 450 districts countrywide had already been prepared covering the same number of parliamentary constituencies. The CDs for remaining constituencies are under preparation.

Moreover, he said the commission would also place the rolls of the metro cities on the commissions website. Already the final rolls in respect of Delhi for 2002 have been placed in English on the site. C-DAC has been roped in to get the rolls in 10 Indian languages.

While the rolls are under revision countrywide the final rolls for major cities will get placed on the commission's site in Indian languages after January 6, 2003.