ECI Marks Several Firsts in Bye-Polls, Including 100% Webcasting of Polling Stations

ECI Marks Several Firsts in Bye-Polls, Including 100% Webcasting of Polling Stations

For the first time, voters could utilize a mobile deposit facility at the entrance of all polling stations.

By RMN News Service
June 20, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Election Commission of India (ECI) has implemented several major new initiatives during the recent bye-polls to five Assembly Constituencies (ACs), marking a significant stride towards electoral reform. These pioneering measures, envisioned by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, are now poised for full introduction in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly Elections.

The bye-polls, held on June 19, 2025 in 24-Kadi (SC) and 87-Visavadar in Gujarat, 35-Nilambur in Kerala, 64-Ludhiana West in Punjab, and 80-Kaliganj in West Bengal, saw polling at 1354 Polling Stations (PS). The successful deployment of these reforms signals a more efficient, transparent, and voter-friendly election process.

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Key Innovations Introduced:

• Mobile Deposit Facility: For the first time, voters could utilize a mobile deposit facility at the entrance of all polling stations. This initiative addresses the challenges faced by voters, especially senior citizens, women, and PwD electors, regarding where to leave their mobile phones before entering the polling station. Simple pigeonhole boxes or jute bags were provided, facilitated by volunteers, recognizing the widespread use of mobile phones in both urban and rural areas.
• Upgraded Voter Turnout (VTR) Sharing Process: A significantly improved VTR sharing process was successfully implemented, leading to faster updates of approximate polling trends. Under this new system, the Presiding Officer of each polling station directly entered voter turnout data on the new ECINET App every two hours on polling day. This data was then automatically aggregated at the constituency level.
  • Crucially, Presiding Officers are now required to enter voter turnout data into ECINET immediately after the close of poll, before leaving the polling station. This ensures that the approximate percentage of votes polled is available on the updated VTR App constituency-wise much sooner, subject to network connectivity. In areas without mobile networks, offline entries can be made and synced later.
  • This is a notable improvement over the previous manual system, where data was collected by Sector Officers and relayed via phone, SMS, or messaging apps, often leading to delays of several hours or even until the next day for final polling percentage trends to be updated. Previously, Presiding Officers updated final VTR data only after completing other statutory responsibilities like filling Form 17C and sealing EVMs.
• 100% Webcasting of Polling Stations: The ECI ensured 100% webcasting of poll-day activities at all polling stations across the five bye-poll ACs, with only one exception. This measure allows for constant vigilance of the entire polling process, ensuring critical activities proceed smoothly and there are no violations. Dedicated monitoring teams at the RO, DEO, and CEO levels maintained strict vigil on proceedings.
• Special Summary Revision (SSR) of Electoral Rolls: For the first time in nearly two decades, a Special Summary Revision of the Electoral Rolls was conducted before these bye-polls.

These successful implementations in the bye-polls serve as a critical test run and pave the way for the full introduction of all these measures in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly Elections, promising a more modernized and transparent electoral landscape for India.