Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a remarkable initiative, Madhya Pradesh state election commission has successfully conducted a paperless voting process in the state capital Bhopal for the first time in the country.
The state election commission conducted the paperless voting as a pilot project during the Panchayat by-election at polling station-295 in the voting being held for the post of Sarpanch in Ratua Ratanpur village, Berasia tehsil in Bhopal on Wednesday, September 12.
Giving details about the process, Secretary of State Election Commission Abhishek Singh told ANI, "There are two parts, one is voting which is already done through EVM but the rest of the process is manual and is done on paper. It is a very laborious process and takes a lot of time. Like in Panchayat elections, 26 types of forms are filled and for completing all the processes manually, a lot of human resources are required. It also takes a lot of time and there is a possibility of error."
"When we computerised it, which we implemented here and it was successful, real-time data and accurate data will be generated, fewer human resources will be used, transparency will be maintained and smooth elections will be conducted," he said.
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In this process, we used thumb impressions and electronic signatures as identification of voters and it was successful. With this, it will be ensured that the voter who came to cast a vote, was physically present and no other person voted instead of that person, he added.
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When asked about implementation of the paperless voting in the upcoming elections, Singh said, "As of now, we conducted it at one booth and gradually will increase its number in coming days. In a few years, we will implement it 100 percent in the state. It is an evolving process, we have done it for the first time."
