Bihar panchayat polls: State poll panel moves HC over delay in procuring EVMs

The state election panel has been communicating with the ECIL since last year for the purchase of 15,000 EVMs but ECIL did not get the requisite clearances from the election commission of India, said an official.

Bihar state election commission (SEC) has moved the Patna high court, over the perceived delay in the grant of permission by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the purchase of multi-post electronic voting machines from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) for holding the state’s first EVM-conducted Panchayat polls.

The state poll panel is planning to hold Bihar panchayat polls in multiple phases. (PTI file photo)

The SEC has pleaded that the perceived delay in getting clearance for the EVMs could hamper the timely conduct of the panchayat polls, which the poll panel was tentatively planning to hold in phases beginning next month and complete before June 15, said officials aware of the developments. The writ petition was filed on behalf of SEC on February 11 and is expected to be taken up by the court soon, they added.

Elections for a total of 2.58 lakh posts in the three-tier rural local bodies are due in Bihar and the state poll panel has been busy updating the voter's list, verifying poll booths, finalising security and logistics among others. The purchase of EVMs has been sanctioned by the state government.

The SEC has been trying to obtain the multi-post EVMs—with multiple voting options-- of secured detachable memory module (SDMM) from the ECIL, Bangalore, in keeping with its tentative schedule for the panchayat polls.

An official, pleading anonymity, said the SEC has been communicating with the ECIL since last year for the purchase of 15,000 EVMs but ECIL did not get the requisite clearances from the ECI.

The SEC, which plans to hold panchayat polls in nine phases, is keen to complete the election process by June 15 when the term of the three-tier local bodies end. The state government has already approved and earmarked the funds for the purchase. The total cost of holding the panchayat polls is expected to be close to ₹400 crore.

This is the first time that panchayat polls in Bihar are being planned using EVMs. Till the last panchayat election, held in 2016, ballot papers were used.

“The EVMs are being used to bring in transparency in the conduct of the elections; check electoral malpractices especially in the counting process and also to reduce litigation. Previously, EVMs have been used in Rajasthan and a few other states. There is a provision for the use of EVMs in panchayat polls in Rule 54 of the Bihar Panchayat Election rules, 2006,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

SEC officials did not comment on the petition. “I will not make any comment,” said Amit Shrivastava, the senior retained counsel of the SEC.