Hyderabad, Oct. 29 -- Dear Prime Minister Narendra Modi, you are wrong. An election to 28 Legislative Council seats held on ballot paper cannot settle the Congress' complaint about electronic voting machines (EVM), because it was never the same kind of election.

The Congress allegation concerns the machines used in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, where crores of voters press a button for a candidate of their choice. The council polls on October 23 involved none of that. No machines were used, because none could be.

Voters in these seats rank candidates in order of preference, which an EVM cannot record, and only registered graduates and teachers in each constituency can vote.

The electorate was different, the ballot was different and the...