Just as the verdict of the Lok Sabha election is loud and clear on May 23, so is the verdict on the much maligned EVMs and VVPATs.The first Lok Sabha election in which each EVM was 100% backed by a VVPAT and in which physical verification of VVPAT slips has been done- concluded with a full clean chit to the machines.Physical verification of VVPAT slips with the EVM count was done across over 20,000 polling station on May 23 before declaration of results as per Supreme Court orders.As at 8:30 pm, with over 157 of the 542 results declared, there was not a single case found of a mismatch between the VVPAT slip and the EVM count, as per EC data.Chief Electoral Officers across states submitted that there wasn’t a single mismatch reported anywhere- a record that has been maintained since VVPATs were first brought in from 2013-14 on pilot basis.The Opposition had mounted an aggressive campaign questioning the credibility of EVMs and VVPATs, demanded 100% VVPAT count to counter alleged manipulation of EVMs and even demanded last minutes changes in the VVPAT tallying procedure for counting day- a demand that the Election Commission rejected.The Opposition had even gone to the Supreme Court on the matter which ordered that, VVPAT slips in five polling stations across each assembly segment must be counted in Lok Sabha elections 2019.The same was implemented and VVPAT tallying was done across well over 20,000 polling station after the EVM count on May 23. Results were declared only after the VVPAT tallying was completed.The issue of EVM credibility and VVPAT auditing has been raised repeatedly by a number of political parties. In the August 27, 2018 meeting that EC had with all political parties, almost the entire opposition had joined hands with the Congress to demand a return to ballot paper based voting rather than the EVM.Many political parties suggested that at least VVPAT counting must be upped- from one polling booth per constituency to 10%-30% VVPATs in a constituency- to put doubts to rest.21 Opposition parties had later gone to court seeking that EC do a physical count of up to 50% VVPATs per constituency in a simultaneous manner.The SC order of April 2019, however, kept the verification level at under 2 per cent of the polling booths per constituency and observed that the increase in number of EVM-VVPATs to be subjected to physical verification was being done in order to "ensure the greatest degree of accuracy, satisfaction in election process” and to make the system ‘fool proof’.The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent printer like system attached with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. The VVPAT consists of a Printer and a VVPAT Status Display Unit (VSDU).When a vote is cast, a slip is printed on the VVPAT printer containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate for whom the voter has cast his ballot and it can be seen/verified by the voter for 7 seconds through a transparent window Thereafter, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in sealed drop box of the VVPAT.The Opposition has been demanding tallying of VVPAT slips with total votes cast on EVMs as proof that there was no manipulation of votes.