The Blame on EVMs

AFTER EVERY REJECTION by the voter, whom do you think the Gandhi Congress takes out its frustration on? On the poor, lifeless EVMs. You see, it can’t publicly blame the voter who in his wisdom spurns the cooing calls of the latest generation of dynasts from the Nehru-Gandhi stable and votes BJP to power. It was Haryana a few weeks ago. Now it is Maharashtra. In both states, even before a single vote was cast, the Grand Old Party had persuaded itself that victory was a foregone conclusion. It was not. The voter had other ideas. But the losers had no clue as to what hit them once the counting began and EVMs overwhelmingly endorsed the ruling parties in the two states. So, Congress immediately, almost robotically, pinned the blame on EVMs, joined readily in its escapist response by its inhouse ‘Godi’, if you please, media. The nightly YouTuber endorsing the EVM charge claimed there were celebrations at BJP headquarters early in the morning, long before the counting was over in Haryana. Really? With friends like these, Congress doesn’t need enemies, does it? Anyway, back to EVMs. The Election Commission might protest that that the shrill assault on EVMs undermines faith in the machines. It might feel obliged to respond to every complaint from bad losers reciting the usual litany of doubts about the integrity of the voting machines, but it should not be overly concerned about people’s faith in the electoral system. For, the Indian voter, a veteran of numerous elections, provincial and federal, is mature enough to take such charges of ballot-rigging in his stride, dismissing them for what they are, that is, utter nonsense. Decency to accept election loss and congratulate the winners is not part of our political culture.

But more than the Congress biggies heaping blame on EVMs, what is more laughable, even absurd, is them harking back to the days of paper ballots. In the digital age, going back to the rudimentary paper ballots not only entails moving the clock back several decades but putting up with the most egregious electoral malpractices that anyone can think of. (Never mind that much older democracies are so envious of our electoral system that they too want to use EVMs.)

People of a certain age would recall how the combination of muscle and money power had held the voting system hostage till the advent of the incorruptible EVMs. I am old enough to be familiar with the well-documented charges of dominant castes preventing SC/ST voters in particular from stepping out from their villages on polling day, with the area toughies announcing beforehand that their votes had already been cast. Also, it was not uncommon for candidates to capture polling booths, especially in rural areas, and stuff the ballot boxes with ballots stamped in their favour. Bogus voting was rampant in the pre-Aadhaar age. Very often, voters would be encouraged to hand over the ballot papers unstamped in exchange for a few rupees which then would be cast in bulk by a trusted worker of the candidate.

All this is not to suggest that the paper ballots did not reflect the popular will. No, rigging only impacted marginal seats where the contest was tough. Nonetheless, the poor and the underprivileged sections till very recently feared voting freely. EVMs lifted the fear of local musclemen.

That someone like Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who has personally experienced umpteen paper- ballot elections, should now want to throw aside EVMs, can only mean two things. Either he is suffering from amnesia, oblivious to the rampant abuse of the polling process in the pre-EVM age, or feels obliged to parrot his leader Rahul Gandhi. Since no one has found the 82-year-old Congress president infirm of mind, it has to be the latter. It may not be his age or the position he holds, but Kharge playing second fiddle to the Gandhis prevents the party from introspecting, from undertaking a genuine post-mortem of its serial poll shocks.

Accusing EVMs precludes at the very threshold any accountability for electoral losses. Though Kharge cannot be expected to name the real cause for the poor plight of the party he notionally heads, we can have no such hesitation. Without an iota of doubt, Rahul Gandhi is to blame. Indeed, the Gandhi brand is past its sell-by date, newer and better brands have taken over the ever-vibrant market for voters’ minds and hearts. Keep flogging EVMs to your heart’s content but people’s trust it will not win back for you.

Assembly elections 2024BJPCongressElection Commission of IndiaEVMsHaryanaMaharashtra