Bihar Chunav News: After Rahul Gandhi's allegation of lack of transparency in voting, the Election Commission has taken a big step regarding Bihar elections. Bihar elections will be the first election in the country in which there will be 100 percent webcasting.
Patna: The Election Commission has made webcasting mandatory at all polling stations ahead of Bihar elections. This decision has been taken to bring transparency in the election process and increase monitoring. Now there will be webcasting at 100% polling stations instead of 50%.
The Election Commission (ECI) has directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states and union territories to do webcasting at all polling stations. Webcasting includes live video recording and monitoring. The Election Commission said in an announcement on Monday, ‘The Commission has issued instructions to use several citizen measures to monitor various stages of the election process. This also includes webcasting on the day of polling. It is an internal management tool to prevent the election process from getting spoiled.’
Bihar elections first state where 100% webcasting
Bihar will be the first state where 100% webcasting will be implemented. Assembly elections in Bihar are expected to be held in October or November this year.
The Election Commission has said that webcasting will be done in areas where there is internet connectivity. The poll panel said in a message to all state chief electoral officers, ‘It has been decided that webcasting will be done at all polling stations, i.e. 100% polling stations with internet connectivity. However, in shadow areas, proper arrangements for videography photography etc. may be made.’
Till now webcasting was mostly done at important polling stations. Earlier, webcasting was done at 50% polling stations and important polling stations. The aim was to ensure that the voting process was not spoiled.
Webcasting monitoring control rooms to be created
In December last year, the government had changed an election rule. Under this change, certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage, as well as video recordings of candidates, were barred from public inspection. This was done so that these are not misused. Based on the recommendation of the EC, the Union Law Ministry amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. The purpose of this amendment was to restrict the type of papers or documents open for public inspection.
How will webcasting be done at polling stations? There will be a webcasting monitoring control room at the state level, district level and AC level. It will be monitored by a nodal officer appointed at each level. The nodal officer will be responsible for ensuring the following for the smooth functioning and monitoring of webcasting on the polling day.
EC’s decision after questions raised by Rahul Gandhi
This decision comes at a time when Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has demanded that the EC release CCTV footage of polling day in Maharashtra. Earlier this month, he had alleged that there was ‘match-fixing’ in the 2024 Maharashtra elections and demanded that the EC release video footage of voting after 5 pm.
The Mahayuti alliance, which comprises the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), secured 235 of the 288 assembly seats. Of these, the BJP alone won 132 seats, its best performance in the state’s history. However, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) used the five-stage model to undermine the democratic process in the state.
After Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, the pressure on the Election Commission to maintain transparency had increased. The decision of 100% webcasting is believed to be a result of this pressure. Now it remains to be seen how much this decision improves the election process. The Election Commission has also said that webcasting data will be used only for internal purposes. This means that this data will not be publicly available. However, the Election Commission can use this data for investigation if needed.
About the author
Abhishek Kumar
I work in NavbharatTimes.com. Journalism is both my hobby and profession. I have had the good fortune of doing journalism while working in prestigious institutions like DLA, Aaj Samaj, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Network18, NDTV, ZEE Media. It is my nature to write fearlessly on contemporary events and learn new technology….
Courtesy : Hindi News