At least five VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails) will be counted in each LAC (Legislative Assembly Constituency) during the counting of votes on May 2, 2021.
Polling underway for 8th and last phase of assembly elections in West Bengal
Kolkata: Polling is underway for eighth and last phase of assembly elections in West Bengal. The polling, which began at 7 this morning, will conclude at 6:30 PM. Voting is taking place for 35 Assembly seats spread over four districts in this phase. 283 candidates, including 35 women are in the fray. BJP and Trinamool Congress have fielded candidates on all seats. Congress is contesting 19 seats under the banner of Sanyukta Morcha, a coalition between Congress, Left and the Indian Secular Front (ISF). CPI(M) is contesting 10 seats and ISF four. Election Commission has deployed 641 companies of central forces to ensure free and fair polling. Poll body has decided to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at every Polling Station, with a view to enhance the transparency and credibility of the election process, as VVPAT allows the voter to verify his/her vote.
A taxi drives past a poster of Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal state, in Kolkata, India, February 9, 2019. Picture taken February 9, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
On April 28, 2021, India once again broke the world record of highest number of cases by registering 360,960 new COVID-19 infections. 3,293 covid deaths were recorded that day, almost certainly a gross undercount. This is a dramatic reversal of fortunes. A month ago, the Health Minister declared India was “in the endgame” of the coronavirus; the pathogen ignored his proclamation. April has seen India humbled on the world’s stage, its health system crippled to the brink of complete collapse by a dangerous uptick in the daily number of COVID-19 cases. The result is a devastating shortage of hospital beds and oxygen, particularly in New Delhi, the nation’s capital. The international news surrounding India has focused on Indian vaccine producers’ appeal to the Biden administration to end the ban o
2021-04-26 08:05:29 GMT2021-04-26 16:05:29(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
NEW DELHI, April 26 (Xinhua) The seventh phase of local elections in India s eastern state of West Bengal is underway amid a huge spike in COVID-19 cases, officials said Monday.
The ongoing phase is being held in the shadow of spiraling COVID-19 cases. During the past 24 hours, 15,889 fresh COVID-19 cases and 57 related deaths were reported across the state.
The polling started from 7:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. (local time) amid tight security and adequate arrangements, according to officials.
In the ongoing phase, the voting is going on in 34 constituencies from five districts.
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As millions head to the polls for India’s West Bengal elections, a newspaper clipping has surfaced in social media posts which claim it shows a quote from the former head of the Election Commission of India T. S. Krishnamurthy admitting that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hacked voting machines in state assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in 2017. The election watchdog has rejected the claim and registered a police case over what it said was “fake news”.
The purported newspaper clipping was shared here on Facebook on April 11, 2021.
“The BJP won state assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh by hacking EVM - former election commissioner T S Krishnamurthy,” reads the Hindi headline of the purported newspaper clipping.