Ram Madhav writes: Congress, don’t blame Haryana loss on EVMs

“Your connection placed successful nationalist domain successful the mediate of the ongoing predetermination process” is “highly undesirable and 1 that appears designed to make confusion/misdirection/impediment to the behaviour of smooth, escaped and just elections,” the ECI wrote, lambasting Congress implicit its complaints of dilatory counting and reporting of results. “Unheard of successful the affluent antiauthoritarian practice of the country”, “far from a morganatic portion of escaped code and expression”, “frivolous and unfounded”, “disconcerting erstwhile it emanates from a reputed National Political Party” — these were immoderate different beardown words that the Commission utilized to reprimand Congress. In the end, it “urged” Congress to “take steadfast and factual steps”, behoving the party’s “long and illustrious standing”, to “amend their aforestated approach”.

The lone crushed to punctuation extensively from the ECI’s unprecedentedly stern effect is to item the unacceptably debased levels to which the expansive aged enactment is descending successful its unsighted hatred of the Narendra Modi government. Instead of looking inwards to relationship for its electoral failures, the Congress enactment has been trying to discredit the electoral system. The frivolous quality of the complaints tin beryllium gauged from the information that conscionable earlier the Lok Sabha elections, Congress complained that the ECI had “deployed EVMs which were antecedently deployed for elections successful South Africa”. “Various sources informed the enactment that these EVMs person been received straight backmost from South Africa without going done the process of re-validation and re-verification,” it claimed. The world is that nary EVMs were ever sent to South Africa nor were EVMs ever imported from immoderate different country. A elder Congress person had made different likewise startling accusation 2 days earlier the counting of votes successful the wide elections, alleging that the Union Home Minister called up 150 territory magistrates oregon collectors to enactment unit connected them. When the Commission sought details from the party, they were ne'er provided.

Even the party’s complaints astir EVMs successful the Haryana elections were truthful ridiculous that the Commission had to explicate successful method item that the show of artillery charging levels has thing to bash with the votes cast. It was repeatedly affirmed, not conscionable by the ECI, but adjacent by the courts successful much than 40 antithetic cases, that EVMs are tamper-proof. In fact, the batteries are utilized lone to debar connecting the machines to immoderate powerfulness root truthful that each 1 remains an autarkic unit. There are nary ports successful EVMs to link to immoderate outer sources. Moreover, determination is nary sequencing of the machines, and they are deployed successful a random mode astatine the clip of the elections, making it intolerable to tamper with immoderate circumstantial instrumentality oregon a acceptable of them.

Not that the Congress enactment would beryllium unaware of each this. Usage of EVMs began successful 1982 during a by-election successful Kerala. On a larger experimental basis, they were utilized successful 16 assembly segments successful Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi successful November 1998. They were yet deployed afloat successful the wide elections successful 2004. Interestingly, it was Congress that won successful each these elections. If determination was immoderate accidental of tampering with the machines, it was during those archetypal stages erstwhile the exertion was conscionable evolving. But the BJP, arsenic a liable party, ne'er blamed the EVMs for immoderate of its electoral defeats.

The occupation with Congress is its preoccupation with protecting its enactment from being blamed for electoral failures. In doing so, it doesn’t caput casting uncertainty connected the country’s electoral process itself. As pointed retired by BJP spokespersons, Congress had nary problems with EVMs erstwhile the enactment oregon its allies won elections successful Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and adjacent successful Jammu and Kashmir wherever the elections were held astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Haryana. But wherever it lost, it blamed EVMs and the ECI.

Cynical Westerners often circulate a gag astir China and democracy. A Chinese national walks up to Xi Jinping and demands that ideology beryllium introduced successful the country. Xi asks him which democracy? The 1 similar successful the US, wherever the campaigner securing highest votes whitethorn not go the president, the 1 successful UK, wherever the feline successful the absorption secures astir aforesaid fig of votes but becomes the ruling party, oregon the 1 successful France, wherever the enactment with the highest ballot stock is made to beryllium successful the absorption due to the fact that the different 2 ganged up against it? Democracies whitethorn not beryllium perfect. But Indian ideology has matured implicit decades to region galore specified flaws. That’s wherefore the gag doesn’t see India, though it is the world’s largest democracy.

For the Congress Party, it is instructive to work the citizen’s effect to Xi, pointing to the existent acquisition of democracy. Irrespective of the flaws that Xi recovered successful those democracies, the antheral says that helium tin inactive ballot to alteration those leaders aft 5 years.

The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal