The Election Commission of India has declared that electronic voting machines (EVMs) will not be demonstrated before the public for awareness drives once polls are announced.

The decision is set to be enforced across the nation during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

A senior official of the Election Commission said: “The commission organises various programmes to educate voters about EVMs. These machines are usually displayed to provide citizens with firsthand experience of the voting process. However, starting from the announcement of the next Lok Sabha election dates, such programmes can no longer showcase or demonstrate EVMs. The commission can educate voters through digital platforms or any other ways but the machines cannot be used after the announcement of the poll dates.”

The decision has been taken in the backdrop of an incident in Varanasi during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2022. The Samajwadi Party alleged that there was a theft of EVMs from a counting centre merely two days before the vote counting.

The party even circulated a video on social media, showing a truck purportedly transporting the allegedly stolen EVMs.

The Election Commission clarified that the EVMs in question were solely intended for training purposes.

Following the UP incident, senior Election Commission officials said EVMs could still be used for training purposes but they would not be available for demonstrations or any other non-essential activities in public spaces.

The Election Commission instructed all chief electoral officers in the country to provide detailed reports on the security arrangements for strong rooms.

“A comprehensive report has been sought from chief electoral officers, including the number of strong rooms, their spatial configurations, lighting arrangements and other security details,” said a senior Election Commission official.

The chief electoral officer of Bengal, Ariz Aftab, is expected to submit the report to the top brass of the Election Commission on Wednesday.