Bihar Polls 2025: Voters can now carry phones. Here's what the election commissioner said...

It’s common knowledge that mobiles are not allowed in polling booths but that does add to voters worries. As communication and other chores remain on the back burner as most of us our reliant on our phones for a lot of things. From online payment to everything else, the Election Commission's Gyanesh Kumar has found a solution to this. "A voter can deposit his/her mobile phone just outside the polling station room,” he said as he announced initiatives for the Bihar elections.

"We want to assure Bihar voters that not only will the elections be exemplary and smooth, but also the most peaceful due to a special focus on maintaining law and order," he added.

What are the 17 new initiatives announced for Bihar assembly polls?

Among the 17 news initiatives, the most important ones are webcasting of the entire polling process to ensure the transparency in the whole exercise. The reforms also include wider use of the ECINet app for the all the data regarding the elections in the state.

Below is the list of some of the 17 initiatives to be implemented during the Bihar assembly polls:

• Polling stations to be limited to 1,200 voters to ensure better crowd management.
• Complete webcasting of all polling stations to enhance transparency.
• Digital index cards and reports for all poll-related data at the constituency level.
• VVPAT slip counting to avoid a counting mismatch between Form 17C and the EVM.
• ECINet app to be used as a one-stop platform to increase the tech-savviness of the process.
• Coloured photo of the candidates on EVMs for better identification.
• Mobile phones of the voters are to be deposited 100m before the polling station.
• ID cards for all booth officials to avoid any fraudulent activities.
• Training to personnel involved, including booth level agents, police and booth level officers.
• Candidate booths allowed 100 m from the polling station to get more involvement from them in the process.