NEW DELHI: With the Election Commission 's deadline for parties to confirm participation in the EVM challenge set to expire at 5pm today and no confirmations so far, the poll panel is preparing for a scenario where it will have to call off the challenge simply because there are no takers.Though the Trinamool Congress on Thursday wrote to EC asking for more time to nominate members or experts to demonstrate that EC's EVMs could be tampered, the Commission has turned down the demand and asked the party to submit its interest in participation within the original May 26, 5pm deadline.Only yesterday, EC had rejected AAP 's demand to allow it to change or tamper with the motherboard of EVMs during the challenge, terming it "implausible and irrational".According to sources in EC, if no confirmations are received from any party evincing interest in being part of the EVM challenge by 5pm today, the poll panel is likely to issue a press note formally calling off the challenge on grounds of non-participation by those who have been questioning reliability and infallibility of EVMs."EC does not want to project it as a 'victory' as CEC Nasim Zaidi had clarified right at the onset that 'EVM challenge' is not an ego or prestige issue. So there shall only be a press note after 5pm, rather than a press conference, calling off the challenge and welcoming any further suggestion from parties for strengthening administrative and security measures that EC will continue to implement," said an officer.Interestingly, the very parties who had been alleging that EVMs were tampered with in the recent state polls and demanding a ' hackathon ' to prove this, are yet to come forward to show interest in the challenge.The list of EVM doubters includes the BSP, AAP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left, Trinamool Congress and RJD, etc. While BSP and Congress have remained silent, AAP has questioned the "pre-conditions and rules" set by EC for participation in the challenge.This is despite EC's offer to parties to opt any four EVMs among those used in the recent state polls to check the results and demonstrate the 'tampering' as part of the challenge.