New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to enable webcasting from 100 percent of the polling stations having Internet connectivity while making suitable alternative arrangements for videography and photography in the “shadow” areas, where there is no Internet access.
In a communication to all chief electoral officers of states and Union Territories, the ECI Monday also said, “There shall be a webcasting monitoring control room at state-level, district-level and AC(assembly constituency)-level, as well, which shall be supervised and monitored by a nodal officer appointed at each level.”
While the ECI often issues instructions on various measures within the election processes, it has now partially modified earlier instructions to decide that “webcasting shall be done in all polling stations, i.e., 100 percent of polling stations having internet connectivity”.
Earlier, this webcast coverage was limited, not available in all polling stations.
The guidelines come amid an ongoing tussle between Rahul Gandhi and the ECI after the Congress leader alleged widespread rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls.
According to the communication, seen by ThePrint, the nodal officers will be responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning and monitoring of the webcast footage on the polling day, with a dry run conducted at least two days in advance.
Nodal officers will also ensure that all polling stations are live-watched for an adequate period during the day, maintaining close observation of the proceedings, as well as monitoring the poll day activities.
“For this, adequate staff should be deployed at the control rooms,” the ECI added.
For smooth functioning of the monitoring process, the ECI will also provide adequate infrastructure for Information Technology, Internet, TV displays, mobile phones, technical staff and stationery items, among other necessities.
According to the guidelines attached to the ECI communication, webcasting should not cover the face of the ballot unit and the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) to preserve the secrecy of the votes.
Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi called the results of the Maharashtra electrons “glaringly strange” in an article he wrote.
“The scale of rigging was so desperate that, despite all efforts to conceal it, tell-tale evidence has emerged from official statistics, without reliance on any nonofficial source, revealing a step-by-step playbook,” Rahul’s column, Match-fixing Maharashtra, read.
Soon after, sources within the ECI had called it “strange” that Gandhi had sought answers for his “same unfounded doubts again and again” despite the ECI’s response to the allegations last year to the Indian National Congress.
The ECI, in December 2024 and April this year, again rebutted similar charges by Rahul Gandhi.
“It is not clear as to why Shri Rahul Gandhi is shying away from writing to EC in person by himself and get(ting) a reply,” the ECI sources have also said.
The decision on the Monday communication was “completely independent” of Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, the ECI sources have also asserted, after its announcement on polling station webcasting.
“This is an internal monitoring mechanism for the (election) commission to keep a watch on the polling station,” according to the sources.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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