Insta
ECI To Use Booth Application In West Bengal Elections To Address Bogus Electors, Eliminate Duplication
Swarajya Staff
Feb 10, 2021, 04:37 PM | Updated 04:37 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Addressing concerns of bogus electors, duplication of voting and to bring efficiency in rolling out details of polling process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will comprehensively use its mobile application in the forthcoming West Bengal legislative elections, New Indian Express reports.
The concerned application is connected to the central agency’s server and it transfers data in an encrypted manner.
“It's in the planning stage. Nothing has been finalised yet. We hope this will help us conduct free and fair polls,” one of the officials from the ECI told the publication. The application provides age-based, gender-wise polling information and also the pace of the voting process along with details of other events related to the elections.
The official further added, “There will encrypted QR codes on photo voters slips, which will be scanned before allowing the voter to enter the booth. The codes will be scanned for the second time before voters exercise their franchise.”
Once a voter casts their vote, the data of the same is transmitted to the ECI server. This subsequently allows the returning officer to access real-time turnout of voters along with other poll-related events. Apparently, the central agency believes that this whole process will ensure correct entries too.
The ECI officer claimed, “The booth application, capable of auto-detecting duplicate entries, will alert the polling official with a loud sound on his/her mobile phone.”
This application was previously tested in a few polling stations each in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and also in 10 assembly seats in Jharkhand in November 2019. However, the system will be carried out in large-scale for the first time if implemented during the polls in West Bengal.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.