Although Lok Sabha elections 2024 are over! But the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said it had received eight applications for verification of the burnt memory of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units from candidates in the 2024 elections, a first since the Supreme Court order in April allowing the verification on the request of the runners-up in any election.

In a statement, the EC said three applications had been received from BJP candidates in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Vellore (Tamil Nadu) and Zahirabad (Telangana); three from Congress candidates in Kanker (Chhattisgarh), Faridabad (Haryana) and Karnal (Haryana); and one each from the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) candidate in Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate from Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh). In all, the applications came from 92 polling stations in eight Parliamentary constituencies.

The Supreme Court had in April given the second and third place candidates the option to seek verification of the burnt memories of 5% of EVMs per Assembly segment or constituency. The EC then drafted the SOP, which says candidates who wish to apply for verification must do so within seven days of the results and deposit `40,000 per EVM.

An EC source said the right of filing election petitions, which is available to all candidates and voters, within 45 days of the results and the right of the runners-ups to seek verification had to be balanced.

In case of an election petition, the EVMs are kept in storage so they can be examined. If there is no election petition filed in 45 days, the applications for verification can proceed. The technical SOP, of what will be shown to the applicants and how the verification will be carried out, was being drafted, the source said. As per the administrative SOP issued by the EC on June 1, the process of verification would only start after the 45-day period allowed for all candidates and voters to file an election petition challenging an election which for the Lok Sabha elections would be till July 19.

The chief electoral officers have informed EVM manufacturers of the list of applications for verification.