What If Votes In EVM and VVPATS Do Not Match?

With polling almost coming to an end, the focus of the debate is now on the EVMs and the VVPATS. Doubing Thomases are coming up with ever newer doubts about the VVPATS. One question that is thrown up is what if there is a discrepancy in the number of votes polled and the number of VVPATs registered. Though a VVPAT is flashed for every vote, there could be some error somewhere, argue the doubters. When the number of the votes polled and the VVPATs tally, there is no problem. In such case, the result would be announced immediately. If there are fewer VVPATs than the votes polled, there would be repeated re-count. When even that fails to resolve the dispute, then the issue would be taken to the notice of the higher officials. Then they would take into account only VVPAT slips into the account. Clearly, more importance is given to the VVPATs and not to the votes registered in the EVMs.

With several political parties planning to create a ruckus, the election commission does not want to take any chances. It has evolved a policy to address such issues. But, election officials said that it is highly unlikely that there would be any difference between the number of voles polled and the number of VVPAT slips. The Opposition led by the TDP is demanding that at least 50 per cent of the total number of VVPATs should be counted. This demand has been rejected by the Supreme Court.