A shocking discovery of hundreds of VVPAT slips scattered along a dusty roadside near a government college in Bihar’s Samastipur district triggered widespread panic and outrage on Saturday, with viral videos capturing the sensitive election materials lying exposed in the open just 48 hours after the first phase of polling concluded. The incident, occurring in the high-stakes Sarairanjan assembly segment—one of the 121 constituencies that voted on Thursday—immediately sparked accusations of tampering and negligence, threatening to undermine public trust in the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar swiftly addressed the crisis in a detailed press statement, confirming that the discarded slips were exclusively from mandatory mock polls conducted before actual voting began at each polling station, and thus posed no threat to the real ballot count or electoral outcome. He emphasized that standard protocol requires these test slips—generated to verify EVM-VVPAT functionality—to be securely destroyed on-site in the presence of polling agents, making their roadside abandonment a clear and unacceptable breach of procedure.

The Election Commission took decisive and immediate action by suspending the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) responsible for the polling station and directing the Samastipur District Magistrate to file an FIR against the official under relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act. The DM personally visited the site, collected the scattered slips, and briefed all contesting candidates—including JD(U)’s sitting MLA Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, RJD’s Arbind Kumar Sahani, and Jan Suraaj’s Sajan Kumar Mishra—to dispel any doubts and ensure transparency.

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The EC’s rapid response included an on-ground inspection by the District Magistrate, who verified through serial numbers and timestamps that no actual voter data was compromised and that all live EVM-VVPAT units remain sealed under multi-layer security with CCTV surveillance until counting day on November 14. The commission also issued a public advisory reinforcing that mock poll slips bear distinct markings and are never part of the final tally, aiming to counter misinformation spreading on social media.

As Bihar heads into its final polling phase on November 11 across 122 constituencies, the incident has fueled urgent demands from opposition parties and civil society for stricter oversight of post-mock poll procedures, real-time audits of waste disposal protocols, and mandatory videography of slip destruction. The EC has assured voters that enhanced monitoring, including surprise inspections and agent training, will prevent recurrence, while political leaders across the spectrum have called for independent audits to restore public confidence in the sanctity of the electoral process.

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