In order to help the voters in identifying the candidates during voting, the photographs of the candidates in each Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) will feature in the voting panels of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming Assam assembly elections.
The State Election Department of Assam has been directed by the Election Commission of India to take necessary actions in this regard.
As per the ECI directive, the photographs of the respective candidates will have to printed on the ballot papers and pasted on the EVMs by the election authorities at the district and sub-divisional levels. It is worth mentioning that the candidates’ photographs will also be featured in the ‘Postal Balot’ papers
According to a statement by the ECI, the measures have been undertaken to help avoid any confusion, which may arise when candidates with the same or similar names contest from the same constituency. For this purpose, the candidates are required to submit to the RO (Returning Officer), their recent stamp-size photograph as per the specifications laid down by the ECI.
The ‘Ballot Paper’ will be pasted on the EVMs after the finalization of the list of contesting candidates. This list for the first phase of the polls will be finalized on March 12. The first phase of the elections is due on March 27 across 47 LACs. The remaining two phases will take place on April 1 and April 6, 2021.