EC to use VVPAT in Bengal to ensure fair Assembly poll

The Election Commission will use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail in 5,993 polling stations under 22 Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal during the six-phase poll to ensure a fair poll.
The VVPAT is a paper slip which will come out of the electronic Voting Machine (EVM) once a voter casts his vote, showing which symbol and candidate the vote has been cast for.
The slip will be automatically dropped in a sealed box attached to the EVM for use by the EC, state's Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said.
The system was also in place selectively during the 2014 Lok Sabha election in different states including West Bengal.

Regarding filing of nomination papers for the first part of the first phase Assembly polls in 18 seats under LWE areas on April 4, Sarkar said that so far only one nomination paper has been filed from Purulia district since the issue of notification yesterday.
Sarkar said that since December 1, 2015, the EC has executed 1,40,902 Non-Bailable Warrants as preventive measures, while execution of nearly 46,000 NBWs was yet to be done.

So far 3,84,218 litre of country liquor has also been seized during this period, Sarkar said.
Sarkar also said that steps would be taken to remove all hoardings immediately or steps would be taken against the authorities.

Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena, who will be arriving tonight, would hold video conference with the DMs and SPs tomorrow at the CEO's office here to review poll preparedness ahead of the two-day visit of the Chief Election Commissioner and his team from March 14, he said.
Meanwhile, Secretary to the EC, R K Srivastava, today visited different areas under North 24-Parganas and Nadia district to see the poll preparedness, he added.