Congress leader Imran Masood has attacked BJP on the issue of 4,000 EVMs being burnt to ashes in West Bengal and NEET paper leak. He said that democracy is being destroyed. Right now political parties are being attacked and preparations are being made to bring dictatorship in the country.

When the question arose, 4000 EVMs were burnt – Imran Masood

He added, “If we don’t wake up today, this is never going to stop.” EVMs burnt in West Bengal. Since the question arose that in a village where there were 97 percent Muslim votes, BJP got 90 percent votes. The question was raised that 4000 EVMs were burnt.

#WATCH | Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: Congress leader Imran Masood says, “Democracy is being destroyed. Right now, there’s an attack on political parties, and after that, preparations are underway to bring dictatorship in the country. If we don’t wake up today, this will never… pic.twitter.com/1SjQBYwNal

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2026

Preparations to paralyze all the systems of the country – Imran Masood

Congress leader Imran Masood has also reacted regarding the NEET paper leak. He said, “There was a scam in the NEET exam, the entire education ministry caught fire. Whatever is happening shows that the country is moving towards dictatorship. “Preparations are being made to paralyze all the systems of the country.”

A massive fire broke out in a nine-storey building on June 10.

Let us tell you that a massive fire broke out in a nine-storey building in Alipore area of ​​South Kolkata on Wednesday (June 10). Apart from other departments, this building also housed the office of South 24 Parganas District Council. Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services Kaushik Choudhary had said that about 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. These EVMs were used in 10 constituencies during the assembly elections held in the state this year.

SP-Congress alliance almost certain in UP assembly elections 2027, consensus reached on seat sharing formula

A delegation of Punjab BJP met the State Election Commissioner on Wednesday and demanded withdrawal of the decision to conduct voting through ballot papers instead of EVMs in the upcoming local body elections. Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar led the delegation, which included State Working President Ashwani Sharma, senior leaders Vijay Sampla, Som Prakash, Manoranjan Kalia, Avinash Rai Khanna, Rakesh Rathore and Vineet Joshi.

While talking to reporters, Jakhar alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in collusion with the State Election Commissioner has implemented the rule of voting through ballot papers as part of a conspiracy to manipulate the local body elections. He alleged that the ruling party had used the same method in the elections of Panchayat Raj institutions also.

Jakhar said that local body elections have traditionally been conducted through EVM machines, but after the announcement of the elections, the State Election Commission suddenly decided to conduct the elections through ballot papers overnight, allegedly on the instructions of the government. He claimed that it has always been a tradition to hold meetings with all political parties before elections, but this time it did not happen.

He said that recently the Local Government Minister had also said that voting would be done through EVMs, but “sensing its defeat” the AAP government changed the decision so that the elections could be “looted” by manipulating the counting of votes and weakening the democracy.

Voting for 105 municipal bodies including eight municipal corporations in Punjab will be held on May 26, while the counting of votes will be done on May 29.

Election Results 2026: Today is a very important day for the country’s politics because on May 4, the assembly election results of five states (West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry) will be declared simultaneously (Election Result 2026).

At present the counting of votes is going on. People are keeping an eye on the trends and updates coming every moment. In such a situation, now the question arises that who counts the votes given by you? Come, amid the results of the assembly elections, let us tell you who is counting your votes and how much salary do they get for this work?

Who counts the votes?

Counting of votes in elections in India is done under the supervision of the Returning Officer (RO) appointed by the Election Commission of India. Along with the Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Counting Supervisor, Counting Assistant and Micro Observer complete the process of counting.

All of them together count your votes.

• The Returning Officer (RO) is usually the DM (District Magistrate) of the district or a senior administrative officer (IAS/IPS). They are responsible for counting the votes.
• One or more AROs are appointed to assist the Returning Officer. These are usually SDM or Tehsildar level officers.
• During counting of votes, the counting supervisor is the head of the counting table, who is usually a Gazetted Officer of the Central or State Government.
• There are one or two counting assistants at each table to assist the supervisor, who count the EVM and ballot paper votes.
• Micro Observers are central government employees appointed by the Election Commission, who monitor the observance of rules and complete transparency at the table.

How much is the salary?

Officials working in elections get paid in two ways – their regular salary and additional honorarium given by the Election Commission.

Returning Officer Salary: Their monthly salary ranges between Rs 78,800-2,25,000. (As per Level 1 to Level 14 of 7th Pay Commission).

Salary of Assistant Returning Officer: Their monthly salary ranges between Rs 56,100-1,77,500 (Level 10 or 11 of the 7th Pay Commission).

Additional honorarium given by the Election Commission

• As per the guidelines of the Election Commission, senior officers like DEO/RO/ARO are given a lump sum honorarium equal to at least one month’s basic salary.
• The counting supervisor is paid a lump sum of around Rs 1,500-1,850 (including training and duty allowance) for counting duties. Apart from this, they also get food allowance.
• Micro observers are paid around Rs 1,000-1,200 including duties and training.

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West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026: After the end of the assembly elections in West Bengal and before the vote counting, there is an uproar over allegations of tampering in the strong room and electronic voting machine (EVM). Meanwhile, in a major step, the Election Commission on Saturday (May 2, 2026) has appointed 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers in West Bengal.

In this regard, the Election Commission has officially issued a statement on Saturday (May 2, 2026), in which the Commission has said that in order to further strengthen the security and monitoring of law and order around the counting centers for the ongoing Assembly elections in West Bengal, 2026, 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers have been appointed.

Appointments made to make vote counting peaceful and transparent: Commission

The Election Commission said that all these additional counting observers and police observers have been appointed so that they can assist the counting observers deployed in all 165 constituencies and ensure that the vote counting process is conducted in a safe, peaceful, fear-free and transparent manner. The Commission said that these appointments have been made on the basis of the powers given to the Election Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. During this appointment, all observers will remain under the Commission and will work under the control and leadership of the Commission.

Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed 165 Additional Counting Observers to assist Counting Observers and 77 Police Observers to strengthen security and oversee law & order arrangements around Counting Centers for the ongoing General Election to the Legislative Assembly… pic.twitter.com/lJASM0XxGJ

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2026

Election Commission gave strict instructions for observers

The Election Commission said in its official statement that in 165 assembly constituencies of West Bengal where there is more than one counting hall, additional counting observers have been appointed to assist the counting observers. Apart from this, police observers have been given the responsibility of maintaining security and law and order around the counting centres, so that no incident of any kind takes place near the counting centers and the counting process can be conducted as per the guidelines given by the Election Commission.

Election Commission’s strict protocol before counting

The Election Commission has also made it clear in its statement that the police observers deployed at the counting centers will not, under any circumstances, go into the counting hall on the day and during the counting of votes. Police observers will work closely with counting observers and other deployed electoral machinery during the vote counting process.

Apart from this, the counting officers will issue a QR code based photo identity card (ID card) to the counting staff, candidates and their agents under a certain module of ECINET, through which they will be able to enter the counting centres. The Commission also said that apart from the counting observers and returning officers, no person will be allowed to carry mobile phones inside the counting hall.

Also read: Supreme Court gave a blow to TMC, refused to interfere in the matter of deployment of central employees for counting of votes.

Amidst the political turmoil over the protest by TMC leaders outside the strong room and allegations of EVM tampering, the Election Commission has clarified its position on Thursday (April 30). State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Aggarwal has given a big statement on the allegations made by TMC leaders.

Election Commission denies tampering with CCTV

Manoj Kumar Aggarwal said that none of the CCTV cameras of the strong room had been switched off. He said that the ‘live footage’ of the strong room was made available to all political parties, so that they could monitor themselves. The Commission has completely rejected the claims that the footage has been tampered with. Recently, TMC leaders had alleged that at some places the cameras installed outside the strong rooms were found switched off, due to which questions were being raised on the fairness of the elections.

The State Chief Electoral Officer said that a total of eight strong rooms were made, out of which EVM machines were kept in seven and postal ballots were kept in one. Live footage of all these rooms is being shown continuously. Representatives of political parties can monitor the machines through this footage while remaining outside the security circle. For this, strict three-tier security arrangements have been made.

‘EVM strong room is completely safe’ – Election Commission

The statement said that all the EVM strong rooms at Khudiram Anushilan Center are completely secure, sealed and under strict surveillance. Officials clarified that only the process of sorting of postal ballots was being done there as per the prescribed rules, which was wrongly presented as opening of EVM strong room.

Tape pasted on BJP’s button in EVM, game on Mamata Banerjee’s nephew’s seat, sensational allegation by BJP during voting

Regarding the viral video on social media, the Returning Officer of Beliaghata Assembly Constituency said, ‘There are EVM strong rooms of total 7 Assembly Constituencies in the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra premises and all of them were closed and sealed in the presence of the candidates, their election agents and the General Observer after the end of voting. The last EVM was sealed in the strong room at around 5:15 am on Thursday after the completion of voting late on Wednesday night. All the strong rooms containing EVMs are securely locked and their security is being constantly monitored.

What did the returning officer say?

The returning officer said that there is also a separate strong room for postal ballots in the same premises, where postal ballots of different assembly constituencies are kept. The process of sorting this postal ballot was started from 4 pm on Thursday. He told that sorting of postal ballots was being done in the corridor outside the EVM strong room, while the main EVM strong room remained completely closed and sealed. Information about this process was already given to all observers, returning officers and political parties.

Returning officers were instructed to inform this to the candidates and agents of their respective areas. On this, official notice was sent to all the candidates and their election agents including TMC’s Kunal Ghosh, CPI(M)’s Parmita Roy, BJP’s Parth Chaudhary, Congress’s Shahina Javed, SUCI (C)’s Jayanti Mitra. Election officials reiterated that the sorting of postal ballots was started as per the prescribed procedure after informing all the political parties at 4 pm and the EVM strong room was not opened at any stage.

BJP worker Mosharif Mir beaten up by TMC supporters, office also vandalized, Mamata Banerjee accused of spreading terrorism

A major change has been made by the State Election Commission regarding the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan. Under this change, it has now been decided that voting in the Panch and Sarpanch elections will be conducted not through EVM but through ballot paper. Regarding this, the State Election Commission has also issued detailed guidelines to all the district collectors, while on the other hand, the voting of Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti will be done through EVM as per the old process.

Sarpanch elections will be conducted through ballot paper and ballot box.

According to the guidelines issued by the State Election Commission, the elections of Panch and Sarpanch are to be conducted through ballot paper and ballot box. In such a situation, security related arrangements have also been ensured. Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections are to be held using EVMs, but if EVMs fail at any place or there is any kind of chaos, arrangements for ballot papers and ballot boxes will be ensured there too so that there is no disruption in the voting process anywhere.

Let us tell you that since the last three Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan, elections for all the posts including Panch, Sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad have been conducted through EVMs only. The last Panchayati Raj elections were also conducted entirely through EVMs. In such a situation, the return of ballot system in Panch and Sarpanch elections after a long time is being seen as a big change.

Considering the time limit, there will be alternatives to EVM and ballot paper.

According to the State Election Commission, elections are to be conducted in a timely and systematic manner. Limited availability of EVMs has also been made so that there is no negligence and the voting process can be conducted in a calm and safe environment. Keeping this in view, both EVM and ballot paper options have been kept together so that the voting process cannot be affected under any circumstances.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule has said that she will not raise questions on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), because she has been elected MP four times with these machines. Supriya Sule’s party NCP (SP) is part of the opposition alliance ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’, which also includes Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).

I will not question EVM or VVPAT- Supriya Sule

Sule, a four-time Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra’s Baramati and working president of NCP (Sharad Pawar), said this during the debate on electoral reforms in the Lok Sabha. Sule said in the House, “I have been elected through this machine, so I will not raise questions on EVM or VVPAT.”

I am not talking against EVM- Supriya Sule

She further said, ‘I am not talking against the machine. I am making a very limited statement and I have big expectations from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has got such a huge mandate in Maharashtra.

Supriya Sule’s political journey

Supriya Sule was elected member of Rajya Sabha for the first time in 2006. In 2009, she was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time. After this, she won the Lok Sabha elections in May 2014, May 2019 and June 2024. In 2024, Supriya Sule defeated Sunetra Pawar, her cousin and wife of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar from Baramati seat.

Opposition leaders have been raising questions on EVM

It is noteworthy that the leaders of the opposition India Alliance have been demanding elections through ballot paper. Opposition leaders allege that BJP ‘hacks’ EVMs. However, the ruling party says that where the opposition wins, the EVM is correct and where the opposition loses, the EVM becomes wrong. The ruling party says that the public has rejected them and that is why they keep cursing EVMs.

After the completion of voting for Bihar Assembly elections, the counting of votes is now awaited. Earlier, a big controversy had arisen in Rohtas district regarding a truck loaded with empty boxes. Bihar’s opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged that a truck loaded with EVMs entered the counting center of Sasaram without any information. RJD workers sat on strike regarding this.

Many questions have been raised by sharing a video from RJD’s official X account. It has been asked why the truck allegedly loaded with EVMs was entered into the counting center of Sasaram (Rohtas district) by the district administration without any prior information and transparency? Why were the truck drivers sent away without bringing them to light? Why was the CCTV camera feed closed here since 2 o’clock?

RJD made this appeal to the Election Commission

Seven RJD members have demanded that the complete footage be released and the administration be told what is inside the truck. Regarding this, RJD has also tagged Bihar Election Commissioner and Election Commission and sought clarification. Also warned that if the truth is not revealed, thousands of people will reach the polling booth to stop the alleged ‘vote theft’.

Why was a truck allegedly loaded with EVMs entered the counting center of Sasaram (Rohtas district) by the district administration without any prior notice and transparency?
Why were the truck drivers sent away without bringing them to light?
Why was the CCTV camera feed closed here since 2 o’clock?
Full footage should be released!
In the truck… pic.twitter.com/QzeA3MxlHF

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) November 12, 2025

What is the whole matter?

Actually, a ruckus broke out outside the strong room of EVM for the assembly elections in Rohtas. Here a truck loaded with an empty tin box reached the strong room premises, seeing which people started creating ruckus. Supporters of many candidates including RJD protested there.

DM and SP reached the spot

The market committee premises of the city police station area has been made the Vajra Grih of EVM. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, DM and SP of Rohtas also reached the spot. Many RJD candidates complained about the malfunctioning of the CCTV inside the strong room and sat on a dharna outside. Those who sat on strike included RJD candidate from Dinara, Rajesh Yadav; Sasaram candidate Satendra Sah and Nokha candidate Anita Chaudhary were included.

Rohtas SP Roshan Kumar has forcefully admitted that a truck laden with empty boxes had reached the premises. Meanwhile, District Election Officer cum DM has sought clarification from Chenari Assembly Election Officer cum ADM Rohtas Lalit Ranjan in this matter.

Voting for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections 2025 is taking place. On this day, millions of voters are voting for their favorite candidate through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), but do you know how accurate and safe these machines are? The Election Commission (ECI) adopts a two-tier process for the security of EVMs. Security before the elections (Pre-Election) and security after the elections (Post-Election).

Every EVM machine is thoroughly tested before voting. Government companies like Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) manufacture them. Before the elections, technical checking of these machines is done in the presence of representatives of political parties, so that there are no irregularities. If any machine is found defective, it is immediately sent back to the factory.

After this, all the machines are kept in a secure room, where carrying devices like mobile or camera is completely prohibited. The room is monitored by the state police. The Election Commission also conducts mock polls on some machines to ensure that the voting process is transparent.

Random distribution of machines

The Election Commission randomizes the machines twice. First at the assembly level and then at the polling station level. With this process the possibility of any kind of conspiracy or tampering is eliminated. Even on the polling day, a mock poll is conducted before the polling begins, so that all the candidates can see that the machines are working properly.

post-poll security arrangements

When voting is completed, each EVM is sealed. The seals are signed by the agents of the candidates and then the responsibility of the machines is handed over to the central paramilitary forces. After this all the machines are kept in the strong room. It is a very secure place, where there is 24-hour CCTV surveillance and uninterrupted supply of electricity is ensured. Representatives of the candidates can also participate in the monitoring of these strong rooms. Before counting of votes, the Commission gets the identification numbers of all the seals and machines checked, so that there is no scope for any irregularities.

Why are EVM machines completely reliable?

EVMs are not connected to any network or internet, so it is impossible to hack them or change them remotely. The unique ID of each machine and the three-tier sealing system make it more secure. This transparent process of the Election Commission has made EVMs the most reliable voting system in the world.

Also read: Bihar Assembly Election: How many wives of strongmen are contesting the elections in the first phase, whose fate will be sealed in EVM?

Voting for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections 2025 is taking place. On this day, millions of voters are voting for their favorite candidate through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), but do you know how accurate and safe these machines are? The Election Commission (ECI) adopts a two-tier process for the security of EVMs. Security before the elections (Pre-Election) and security after the elections (Post-Election).

Every EVM machine is thoroughly tested before voting. Government companies like Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) manufacture them. Before the elections, technical checking of these machines is done in the presence of representatives of political parties, so that there are no irregularities. If any machine is found defective, it is immediately sent back to the factory.

After this, all the machines are kept in a secure room, where carrying devices like mobile or camera is completely prohibited. The room is monitored by the state police. The Election Commission also conducts mock polls on some machines to ensure that the voting process is transparent.

Random distribution of machines

The Election Commission randomizes the machines twice. First at the assembly level and then at the polling station level. With this process the possibility of any kind of conspiracy or tampering is eliminated. Even on the polling day, a mock poll is conducted before the polling begins, so that all the candidates can see that the machines are working properly.

post-poll security arrangements

When voting is completed, each EVM is sealed. The seals are signed by the agents of the candidates and then the responsibility of the machines is handed over to the central paramilitary forces. After this all the machines are kept in the strong room. It is a very secure place, where there is 24-hour CCTV surveillance and uninterrupted supply of electricity is ensured. Representatives of the candidates can also participate in the monitoring of these strong rooms. Before counting of votes, the Commission gets the identification numbers of all the seals and machines checked, so that there is no scope for any irregularities.

Why are EVM machines completely reliable?

EVMs are not connected to any network or internet, so it is impossible to hack them or change them remotely. The unique ID of each machine and the three-tier sealing system make it more secure. This transparent process of the Election Commission has made EVMs the most reliable voting system in the world.

Also read: Bihar Assembly Election: How many wives of strongmen are contesting the elections in the first phase, whose fate will be sealed in EVM?