States » EastPosted at: Oct 12 2026 4:42PM


Calcutta High Court seeks EC report on EVM, VVPAT shortage ahead of civic polls

Kolkata, Oct 12 (UNI) The Calcutta High Court sought a detailed report from the State Election Commission on the shortage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines ahead of municipal elections scheduled to be held in seven key municipalities in West Bengal towards the end of the year.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge on Monday directed the commission to file a specific affidavit clarifying whether polling data collected from EVMs and VVPAT machines can be stored separately on hard disks and whether such a procedure is legally permissible.
According to sources in the commission, the formal notification for the elections may be issued in the last week of October.
Polling is tentatively planned for the last week of November, with the results likely to be announced in early December.
The first phase is expected to cover seven municipalities including Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Howrah Municipal Corporation, Bally, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong.

A total of 6,301 polling booths are expected to be set up across these municipalities.
Preparations for the elections have already begun.

However, the shortage of voting equipment has emerged as a major administrative challenge.
The State Election Commission currently has 21,184 ballot units and 19,564 control units.
At present, at least 15 municipalities across 12 districts of the state do not have elected civic boards and are being run by administrators.
Howrah Municipal Corporation faces the most prolonged delay, having gone without an election for 13 years.
The last municipal election in Howrah was held in 2013, and the elected board's tenure ended in 2018.
UNI SAG BM
Tags: #Calcutta High Court seeks EC report on EVM# VVPAT shortage ahead of civic polls
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