Kolkata, April 16 -- Voters in the Bhangar Assembly Constituency in South 24-Parganas will find two electronic voting machines (EVMs) placed side by side inside every polling booth on polling day. Among Bengal's 294 Assembly constituencies going to polls in two phases, Bhangar is the only one where the Election Commission has had to make this unusual provision.
"A standard ballot unit can accommodate up to 16 buttons - 15 for candidates and one for NOTA. In Bhangar, the number of contestants has exceeded that limit," an EC official said.
The Constituency has 19 candidates in the fray, including seven from recognised political parties and 12 Independents. As a result, each booth will have two ballot units. The first EVM will display the names and symbols of 15 candidates, while the second will carry the remaining three candidates along with the NOTA option.
According to Election Commission sources, EVMs and VVPATs had already been allocated for Bhangar's 304 booths. However, the spike in the number of candidates has prompted the Commission to arrange for additional ballot units.
A parallel exercise is underway to assess whether each booth has adequate space to accommodate two ballot units side by side without disrupting voter movement.
Notably, during the 2021 Assembly elections, no Constituency in the state required more than one ballot unit.
Bhowanipore, which goes to the polls on April 29 - the same day as Bhangar - could have faced a similar situation if all 17 nominations had been accepted. However, after scrutiny and withdrawals, the number of candidates there dropped to 12.
There was also a possibility of similar arrangements in Cooch Behar Dakshin, Karandighi and Itahar, which go to polls in the first phase on April 23. But scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations reduced the number of candidates in these constituencies to 15, allowing a single ballot unit to suffice.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.