• Source:JND
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One Nation, One Election: The Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to the centre that it will need around Rs 10,000 crore after every 15 years to buy new Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) if the Lok Sabha polls and assembly election take place simultaneously. It has informed the central government that the life of any single Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) goes up to 15 years. According to the time span, one EVM can be used for three terms of elections. 

The poll body has estimated that around 11.80 lakh polling stations are required to be set up for Lok Sabha elections. If assembly polls take place at the same time, more EVMs would be required, reports news agency IANS, quoting sources in the ECI. It added that at least two sets of EVMs are required at each polling station, one for the Lok Sabha and the second for the assembly. Besides, an increased number of Control Units (CUs), Ballot Units (BUs), and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPAT) will also be required, the Commission said in a letter to the Union Law Ministry last year in February.

Responding to a question, the Election Commission told the Union Law Ministry that in 2023, the tentative cost of EVM was Rs 7,900 per BU, Rs 9,800 per CU, and Rs 16,000 per unit of VVPAT.

A high-level committee has been formed by the central government on One Nation, One Election, led by former president Ram Nath Kovind. According to the terms of reference, the committee is required to make recommendations for the creation of an appropriate legal and administrative framework for holding simultaneous elections on a permanent basis, the identification of necessary amendments to the Constitution and related election laws, the preparation of common electoral rolls, and logistics such as EVMs/VVPATs, among others.

(With input from agencies)