The district administration today conducted the final randomization of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines in the presence of the General Election Observer for Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat and representatives of the political parties here at the District Administrative Complex.The randomization was held in the presence of the General Election Observer Mr. I Samuel Anand Kumar and Deputy Commissioner Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma besides the representatives of the political parties. The randomization was done for 4299 Ballot Units, 2180 Control Units and 2332 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. These EVMs and VVPATs would be installed at 1863 polling booths during the by-poll.A sizeable reserve of EVMs and VVPAT machines would be kept at the disposal of the officers during the by-poll so that they could be replaced whenever any snag occurs in the machines on polling day.
Similarly some machines would also be kept for imparting training to the poll staff.Meanwhile, interacting with the representatives of the political parties the General Observer and Deputy Commissioner assured them that the district administration was duty-bound to ensure smooth and hassle free polling process in Jalandhar. They apprised the political parties that elaborate arrangement have been put at place in Jalandhar by the administration for this purpose. They said that no stone would be left unturned for ensuring that free and fair election process was completed in the district.The General Observer and Deputy Commissioner said that already series of trainings have been conducted to apprise the poll staff about the handling of these machines in a proper manner. They said that the purpose was to ensure smooth and hassle free conduct of elections in Jalandhar district. On the occasion District Information Officer Mr. Amolak Singh Kalsi and others were also present.