The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Thursday that the deadline for post-counting technical scrutiny of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the recent Bihar Assembly election has expired, with zero applications received from defeated candidates.
The ECI noted that no candidate, specifically those who finished in the second or third position in any constituency, submitted a request within the mandated seven-day window following the declaration of results.
The Verification Mechanism
This technical verification option was made available to address transparency concerns, particularly following directives from the Supreme Court.
- Revised SOPs: The procedure is governed by Revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the ECI on June 17.
- Purpose: The mechanism allows candidates to apply for a post-counting check of the microcontroller or burnt memory data of the EVMs. This aims to provide technical scrutiny and assurance regarding the machine’s operation.
- Eligibility: Only candidates who finished in the second or third position immediately behind the winning candidate were eligible to apply for this specialized check.
- Mandated Process: Under the June SOPs, district election authorities are required to process any valid request and conduct the verification in the presence of the applicants or their authorized representatives.
Bihar Elections and Closed Window
The results for both the 2025 Bihar Assembly election and the eight assembly bypolls conducted alongside the second phase of polling on November 11 were announced on November 14.
The ECI confirmed that no request was filed in any seat across the state during the stipulated seven-day period.
With the deadline now officially over, the Commission has closed the window for any further filings related to EVM data verification for the 2025 Bihar polls and the concurrent bypolls. The ECI has consistently maintained that the verification mechanism was available to candidates seeking this technical review after the counting process concluded.