Punjab has begun the First Level Checking (FLC) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units at designated warehouses across the state as part of preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections.
Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra briefed representatives of recognised political parties during their visit to the state-level Webcasting Centre at her office in Chandigarh. She explained how the facility would enable continuous monitoring of the checking process and outlined the role of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) engineers in the technical inspection of the machines.
Mitra said Election Commission of India guidelines were being followed in every district to ensure transparency and procedural compliance. The exercise is intended to verify the operational fitness of EVMs and VVPATs well ahead of the elections.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Amandeep Bansal, Joint Chief Electoral Officers Navneet Kaur Bal and Sanjeev Sharma attended the briefing. Political parties were represented by Ferry Soft (AAP), N.K. Verma (BJP), Arshdeep Singh Kler (SAD), Hardeep Singh Kingra (Congress) and Sunil Kumar (CPI(M)).
The webcasting and participation of political party representatives are aimed at strengthening oversight and building confidence in the election preparedness process.
