Just about five days before elections to Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in Punjab, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that EVMs requisitioned for the elections were already “in transit” from Rajasthan to Punjab and that the remaining process of commissioning the machines could be completed in “just one day”.The assertion came a day after the High Court sought clarity from the Punjab State Election Commission (SEC) on its decision to conduct the election through ballot papers amid claims that EVM deployment was not feasible before the May 27 election.Appearing before the Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, counsel for the ECI referred to a communication dated May 20 sent by the Commission to the State Election Commission and submitted that the concerns earlier raised by the SEC stood addressed.The ECI told the court that the machines had been dispatched from Rajasthan after Punjab authorities showed reluctance in lifting them independently. “The machines are in transit. As we speak, they are in transit,” the court was told.The Election Commission of India is represented through counsel Prateek Gupta, while senior advocates Chetan Mittal and Amit Jhanji are counsel for the petitioners before the Bench.The Commission added that the only requirement now was for the State Election Commission to specify the delivery location and identify the officer authorised to receive the machines.The ECI maintained that its earlier stand regarding availability of EVMs had now translated into actual movement of machines to Punjab. “We are getting them delivered from Rajasthan to Mohali, to Punjab,” the counsel submitted, adding that the Commission would also facilitate first-level checking and commissioning of the machines.The ECI told the Bench that the commissioning exercise—which the State Election Commission had projected as a major impediment requiring over two weeks—was “just a one-day process”.The submission assumes importance because the State Election Commission had previously maintained that even if machines were made available, 15 to 18 days would be required for deployment-related processes, making EVM-based polling impracticable with less than a week left for election.The matter arises out of a petition challenging the decision to switch from EVMs to ballot papers. On Wednesday, the ECI had filed a detailed timeline disputing the Punjab SEC’s stand and contending that delays lay with the state body, not the national poll panel. The High Court had then directed the State Election Commission to file an affidavit placing on record its position and the correspondence relied upon.Punjab Advocate-General Maninderjit Bedi had earlier opposed the petition on the grounds of maintainability. Quoting the apex court, Bedi contended that the process could not be interfered with after the issuance of election notification.