In view of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) directives ahead of the assembly polls next year, district election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma carried out first-level checking (FLC) of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), which started on Thursday in the presence of representatives of political parties.
He was accompanied by additional deputy commissioner (G) Rahul Chaba and ADC of Khanna, Sakatar Singh Bal.
He held a detailed interaction with engineers of Bharat Electric Limited (BEL), who have been assigned the duty of making these machines. Sharma said the primary motive of the inspection is to ensure that polling is conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.
He added that the process of thoroughly checking 6,485 ballot units, 4,339 control units and 4,664 VVPATs to be used during the elections will be completed within a month.
To ensure transparency, ECI has decided to hold this exercise well in advance. He said that proper security arrangements along with CCTV/videography have been ensured during completion of FLC.
He said that the district administration has already requested political parties to send their representatives during these checks to ensure full transparency in the entire work.