Nearly Rs 8,000cr needed for ONOE in 2029: EC to Kovind panel

The Election Commission , in its submissions to the Kovind committee on ' one nation one election ', said conducting simultaneous polls across the country in 2029 would require Rs 7,951 crore, reports Bharti Jain. It sought a "definite lead time" before polls are synchronised as logistical requirements would go up enormously - from electoral rolls to EVMs and movement of security personnel.

EC's inputs sent to the Law Commission in March 2023 - iterated in its Jan 19, 2024 letter to the Kovind panel - said the number of polling stations across the country would have to go up to 13.6 lakh in 2029. It estimated a shortfall of 26.5 lakh ballot units, 17.8 lakh control units and 17.8 lakh VVPATs.

Logistical challenges loom as govt pushes for ONOP

New Delhi: Apart from the challenge of getting the numbers to push through constitutional amendments for 'One Nation One Election', the govt also has to tackle several logistical issues, including regularisation of electoral rolls for panchayat polls.

From electoral rolls to electronic voting machines and movement of personnel, the logistical requirements are enormous, sources said. In its submissions to the Kovind committee, Election Commission had sought a "definite lead time", while projecting funds requirement for the exercise in 2029 at Rs 7,951 crore.

While electoral rolls for assembly and Lok Sabha polls are streamlined and a rigorous process is adopted in preparing them, the process for local body polls need to be streamlined, govt officials said, days after the Union cabinet accepted the recommendations of the committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on holding simultaneous elections .

As per EC's inputs sent to the Law Commission in March 2023 - which it had reiterated in its letter dated Jan 19, 2024, to the Kovind committee - the number of polling stations across the country would have to be increased to around 13.6 lakh in 2029, requiring the deployment of 53.8 lakh ballot units (BUs), 38.7 lakh control units (CUs) and 41.6 lakh voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs).

EC stated that while 30.8 lakh BUs, 22.1 lakh CUs and 23.8 lakh would be available for synchronised polls in the 2029 general election cycle, 3.6 lakh BUs and 1.25 lakh CUs would have completed their life and would need to be phased out. It had projected a shortfall of 26.5 lakh BUs, 17.8 lakh CUs and 17.8 lakh VVPATs.

Given disruptions in the supply chain for semiconductors, the poll panel had highlighted this as a concern, and had called for ramping up the pace and capacity of production.

Also stating that EVM models were regularly upgraded by the technical expert committee, with three models being developed in the past 20 years, the commission said it may be a possibility that the next generation EVM may be launched in the interim, posing a challenge as "the entire magnitude of EVMs/VVPATs for simultaneous elections have to be manufactured afresh".

EC had also projected a major rise in manpower requirement in the event of simultaneous polls, saying that more polling personnel including the presiding officer will be needed at each polling station. It said additional staff would be required for first-level checks, transportation, security, storage and wider law and order requirements.

Predicting a 50% rise in deployment of central forces in the event of synchronised polls, EC had said over 4.7 lakh personnel would be required if they are conducted in 2019. Though EC did not predict the requirement for the 2029 simultaneous polls, working with the same 50% rise, it could be almost 7 lakh security personnel. EC also said an additional 800 warehouses would be required for EVM/VVPAT storage.