According to the Election Commission, if simultaneous elections are held for the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, the Election Commission will require an estimated Rs 10,000 crore every 15 years to purchase new electronic voting machines (EVMs).

In a message sent to the government, the commission said the shelf life of EVMs is 15 years and a set of machines can be used to conduct three cycles of elections in their lifetime if simultaneous elections are held.

According to estimates, a total of 11.80 lakh polling stations will need to be built across India for the Lok Sabha elections this year.

During simultaneous voting, two sets of EVMs will be required per polling station – one for the Lok Sabha seat and the other for the assembly constituency.

Based on past experiences, the Election Commission said in a communication sent to the government, a certain percentage of control units (CUs), ballot units (BUs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines are required to replace the faulty units. it occurs. Various stages including election day.

For one EVM, at least one BU, one CU and one VVPAT machine are made.

Taking into account various aspects, the minimum EVMs and VVPATs required for simultaneous voting will be: 46,75,100 BUs, 33,63,300 CUs and 36,62,600 VVPATs, the commission had said in its letter to the law ministry in February last year. . By early 2023, the tentative cost of EVMs was Rs 7,900 per BU, Rs 9,800 per CU and Rs 16,000 per unit VVPAT.

The Election Commission was responding to a questionnaire sent by the Law Ministry on simultaneous voting. The election panel also underlined the need for additional polling and security personnel, increased storage facilities for EVMs and more vehicles.

The commission said that keeping in mind the production of new machines, increase in storage facilities and other logistical issues, the first simultaneous elections may be held only in 2029. The Commission also observed that holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha would require amendments to five articles of the Constitution. Assembly and Rajya Sabhas.

The provisions that will require amendments are Article 83 which deals with the tenure of the Houses of Parliament, Article 85 which deals with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha by the President, Article 172 which deals with the tenure of the State Assemblies, Article 174 which deals with the dissolution of the State Assemblies. And Article 356 related to imposition of President’s rule in the states.

It also said that necessary changes would be required in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution relating to disqualification on the grounds of defection. The government has set up a panel, which has been renamed, under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine the issue of holding simultaneous elections in the country.

The High Level Committee on One Nation, One Election has been tasked to examine and recommend for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, Municipalities and Panchayats, keeping in view the existing framework under the Constitution of India and other statutory provisions. Has been assigned.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)