Page 25 - NIS English 16-31 Jan, 2026

COVER STORY

National Voters’ Day Special

Law Changed for EVMs in 1989 VVPAT
State Chief Electoral Officers were instructed
1982 EVMs were first used in the to use only GPS-enabled vehicles for
Paravur by-election in Kerala in
transporting EVMs and VVPATs from
1982. It was challenged one place to another during the 2024 Lok
in court, and therefore could Sabha elections. A mock poll of 50 votes is
not be used again until 1989. conducted and tallied at each polling station
90 minutes before the start of polling.
n Amidst allegations and counter- VVPAT
allegations, the Election Commission
1989 On March 15, 1989, the introduced VVPATs after 5 years of
central government led by then
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi research.
amended the law to introduce n Following allegations of discrepancies
EVMs. between EVMs and VVPATs, the Election Commission
decided to match 5 per cent of EVM and VVPAT slips.
1998 In 1998, it was trialed in only When the matching was done, the votes were found to
16 assembly constituencies in
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, be equal in both instances. Political party agents sign off
on the results of the EVMs and VVPATs.
and Delhi.
n The slips of randomly selected VVPATs are counted
2002 When a petition was filed through a draw of lots in the presence of the candidate
against EVMs, a five-judge
or their agent to verify the results obtained from the
bench of the Supreme Court control unit.
upheld the legal amendments
regarding EVMs in 2002. Election
Anecdotes
In 2004, EVMs were used for
2004 the first time throughout the
country. They have been in use The polling party and
ever since. material reached Kargil
by helicopter

The Ralakung, Phema, and Shade polling
stations in the Zanskar sub-division
of Kargil district are located in a very
high-altitude and landslide-prone area.
Ballot Unit Movement is difficult there. Considering
this, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the
polling party, including security personnel
and micro-observers, was transported with
INDIA: A GUIDING LIGHT OF THE the help of helicopters, with assistance
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS from the Air Force and the Army. After
The vastness and diversity of India’s democracy are the completion of the elections, the entire
a matter of pride. The Election Commission of India machinery, including EVMs and VVPATs,
(ECI) has played a crucial role in this glorious journey of was transported to the counting centre
democracy. So far, the ECI has successfully conducted with the help of helicopters.
18 general elections and more than 400 state assembly
elections. To conduct the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,
more than 10 lakh polling stations were set up, with
around 15 million staff – including security personnel,
polling officers, and staff – actively participating.