NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday asserted that the integrity of the polling process remains “uncompromised” after a large number of VVPAT slips were found dumped by the roadside in Bihar’s Samastipur district.Kumar clarified that the slips were from mock polls conducted before actual voting began and announced the suspension of the assistant returning officer (ARO) responsible for the lapse.“The District Magistrate, Samastipur, was directed to visit the spot and inquire. As these are VVPAT slips of mock polls, the integrity of the polling process remains uncompromised. Contesting candidates have also been informed by the DM. However, the concerned ARO is being suspended for negligence and an FIR is being registered,” Kumar said in a statement issued by the Election Commission, according to news agency ANI. The incident occurred in Samastipur’s Sarairanjan assembly segment, one of the 121 constituencies that voted in the first phase on Thursday. The slips were discovered near a college.The poll panel swung into action after a purported video of the scattered slips went viral on social media. The Sarairanjan assembly seat has been held since 2010 by Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). He faces Arbind Kumar Sahani of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sajan Kumar Mishra of the Jan Suraaj Party, among others.The second and final round of polling will cover the remaining 122 seats and is scheduled for November 11. Counting of votes for both phases will take place on November 14.
