VVPAT Slips Found Dumped in Bihar’s Samastipur—ECI Clarifies They Were from Mock Polls, Suspends Official

Key Points

A controversy broke out in Bihar on Saturday, 8 November 2025, after a video showed hundreds of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips scattered along a road in Samastipur district, sparking allegations of tampering just days after the first phase of the Assembly elections.

The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Bihar clarified that the slips were from a mock poll conducted before voting began in the Sarairanjan Assembly segment  on 6 November 2025, and not from actual ballots. The slips were discovered near a college two days after Phase 1 polls, with a video of locals picking them up going viral on social media.

District Magistrate Roshan Kushwaha inspected the site and confirmed that the slips were mock poll samples. “Some slips were not shredded properly after the test run. The EVM numbers will help us identify the staff responsible, and action will be taken,” he said. Candidates contesting the seat were also briefed about the incident.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered immediate disciplinary action against the officials concerned. The Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) was suspended for negligence, and an FIR has been registered. The Commission directed the District Magistrate to file a detailed report after an on-site inquiry.

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“These are VVPAT slips from mock polls, and the integrity of the polling process remains intact,” the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said in a statement. “However, the concerned ARO is being suspended for negligence, and an FIR has been filed.”

The mock polls are conducted before every election to verify the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPAT units in the presence of party representatives. The data from these tests is erased before voting starts.

Officials said the discovery would not affect the outcome of the polls. “Mock poll slips are used only for machine testing. They have no link to actual votes,” a senior election officer said. The Sarairanjan seat has been held since 2010 by Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). He is contesting this year against Arbind Kumar Sahani of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sajan Kumar Mishra of the Jan Suraaj Party. The Election Commission has urged voters to maintain confidence in the process, stressing that all EVMs used in the elections were properly sealed and verified after the mock poll exercise.

The second and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, covering the remaining 122 constituencies, will be held on 11 November 2025. Results are expected to be declared on 14 November 2025. [Rh]

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