Guwahati, 21 March (HS): The Election Commission of India has completed the first phase of randomisation of EVMs and VVPATs for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam with constituency-wise lists shared with political parties.

According to the Commission, the schedule for General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Assam was announced on March 15, 2026. As part of the electoral process, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are allocated through a two-stage randomisation system to ensure transparency and fairness.

In the first stage, EVMs are randomly assigned from district-level warehouses to Assembly constituencies, while in the second stage, they are further allocated from constituency level to individual polling stations. The process is conducted strictly as per ECI guidelines by District Election Officers after completion of First Level Checking (FLC).

The Commission stated that the first randomisation has been completed for Assam and by-elections in Nagaland and Tripura, which are scheduled to go to polls on April 9, 2026.

Officials informed that the process was carried out through the EVM Management System (EMS) in the presence of representatives of recognised national and state political parties. Constituency-wise lists of the randomised EVMs and VVPATs have been shared with these representatives at the respective district headquarters.

The Commission further said that the machines will now be stored in designated Assembly strong rooms under the supervision of political party representatives. After the finalisation of candidates, updated lists of both first and second stage randomised EVMs and VVPATs will also be provided to all contesting candidates.------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash