Bihar creates history with India’s first mobile e-voting in local body polls
Patna, Jun 28 (PTI): Bihar on Saturday became the first state to implement mobile phone-based e-voting during local body elections, a top Election Commission official said.
State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad said while 70.20 per cent of the eligible voters used the e-voting system, 54.63 per cent exercised their franchise by visiting polling booths.
"Bihar has made history today. Bibha Kumari, a resident of Pakridayal in East Champaran district, became the first person in the country to cast a vote via mobile phone during a local body election," the State Election Commission posted on X.
"A symbol of convenience, security, and empowered participation," it added.
Polling for six nagar panchayats and municipal bypolls recorded an overall voter turnout of 62.41 per cent, Prasad said, adding that the elections were conducted peacefully across all locations.
Polling, which was conducted from 7 am to 5 pm, covered 489 booths, with 538 candidates in the fray.
Prasad said the introduction of e-voting aims to increase voter turnout and make the process more inclusive.
The system was specifically designed for voters who face challenges in reaching polling booths, such as the elderly, disabled, pregnant women, and migrants.
Only pre-registered users were allowed to vote via the e-voting platform, he added.
The districts where the nagar panchayat and municipal bypolls were held included Patna, Buxar, Bhojpur, Kaimur, Nalanda, Katihar, Araraia, Saharsa, East Champaran, etc.
Counting of votes will be held on June 30.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
