Patiala, November 13 (Paramjit Singh Parwana):- In view of the Punjab Assembly General Elections 2027 and in accordance with the directions of the Election Commission of India, the First-Level Checking (FLC) of M-3 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) manufactured by BEL and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines began on November 12, 2026, at the District-Level EVM Warehouse near Harpal Tiwana Auditorium, Nabha Road, Patiala. Providing this information, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said that the process would be carried out in accordance with the directions of Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra and the standards prescribed by the Election Commission of India. He said that First-Level Checking is a very important stage in election preparations, aimed at examining the technical functionality of EVMs and VVPAT machines and ensuring that only fully functional and error-free machines are used during the elections.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the checking was being conducted by authorised engineers of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) under the supervision of the District Election Officer. He said that special priority would be given to transparency, security and accountability throughout the process. In addition, authorised representatives of political parties were being provided the facility to observe the process. He appealed to the presidents of political parties to nominate members of their respective parties to observe the process and submit the list to the District Election Office. Entry passes are mandatory for members nominated by political parties to visit the District-Level EVM Warehouse during the FLC. These passes can be obtained from the District Election Office, Patiala, by submitting an authorisation letter issued by the respective political party.
