(Online Desk)

The Election Commission (EC) of India said it would be logistically equipped to hold simultaneous polls for state assemblies and Lok Sabha by September 2018.

Election Commissioner O P Rawat told reporters that the government had sought a response from the EC on the holding of simultaneous state and national polls.

Simultaneous polls to assemblies is being rallied by the BJP. Not all parties are in favour of it.

The EC had informed the government that funds would be needed for a requisite number of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) and VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) and had received Rs 3,400 crore and Rs 12,000 crore respectively for them.

The VVPAT machine is connected with EVMs and dispenses a paper proof for the voters so that they can verify that their vote is cast correctly.

Rawat was in Bhopal for the launch of the ERONet, the new software system introduced by the Election Commission to check inaccuracy and duplicity of votes.

Rawat said that orders for the machines had been placed with two government undertakings and the delivery had already begun.

The EC will be in a position to hold simultaneous polls from September 2018, by when all machines are expected to be delivered. Around 40 lakh EVMs and VVPATs would be needed for simultaneous polls, said Rawat, after which the Centre will have to take a decision and make necessary legal amendments.

The EC, had last month, directed that VPAT or paper trail machines will be used at polling stations in all future elections.

The poll panel had in its affidavit to the SC on September said that it will be able to conduct the upcoming 2017 Gujarat assembly polls using EVMs with VPATs if it gets 73,500 VVPAT machines by September from manufacturers.

The poll panel had told the SC that around 48,000 units were expected to be delivered by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd by August 31 while another 25,500 such units would be delivered by September.

Around 70,000 VVPAT units would be required for the Gujarat assembly polls.

In 2018, elections to assemblies in seven states will be due — Gujarat (terms ends January 22); Himachal Pradesh (January 7); Karnataka (May 28); Meghalaya (March 6); Mizoram (December 15); Nagaland (March 13); and, Tripura (March 14). Except for Mizoram, elections in the remaining six will be over by September 2018.