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Bihar Election Controversy: Mock Poll VVPAT Slips Thrown on Road in Samastipur, Commission Takes Immediate Action
Mock Poll or Mistake? VVPAT Slips Thrown in Garbage in Sarai Ranjan; ARO Suspended, FIR Filed – Election Process Safe!
Samastipur, November 8, 2025: There was a huge commotion the very next day after the voting in the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections. Thousands of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slips coming out of EVMs were found thrown on the side of the road and in a garbage dump near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan Assembly constituency in Samastipur district. These slips were found in Gudma area near Shitalpatti village, due to which the opposition parties raised questions about the election process itself.
The video of the incident quickly went viral on social media. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared two videos from its official Twitter handle and made serious allegations. “A large number of VVPAT slips issued from EVMs were found thrown on the road near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan constituency of Samastipur. When, how, why and on whose instructions were these slips thrown? Will the ‘Thief Commission’ answer?” wrote the RJD. The party called it a conspiracy to ‘steal votes’ and wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Taking cognizance of the matter, Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar immediately ordered Samastipur District Collector Roshan Kushwaha to visit the spot and conduct an inquiry. The District Collector seized the slips in the presence of the candidates. Preliminary investigation revealed that all these slips were from a ‘mock poll’ conducted to test the EVM-VVPAT before the polls. Mock polls are mandatory at 5.30 am on 5 percent of the machines at each polling station. The slips issued from this are mandatory to be destroyed in a shredder machine, but due to negligence, they were thrown away.
“Since these are mock poll slips, the integrity of the voting process is completely safe. Candidates have been informed about this,” Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar clarified. However, Sarai Ranjan’s Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) Arvind Kumar Sahni was immediately suspended for negligence. An FIR has been filed against him and action will also be taken against four employees. The CCTV footage shows the slips being spread by a sweeper at 6.12 am. The technical team again did a 100 percent check by matching the VVPAT-EVM.
District Collector Roshan Kushwaha told the media, “We reached the spot. The slips were seized in front of the candidates. Since these are mock poll slips, there is no impact on the voting. Strict action will be taken against the guilty.” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary also assured that “strict action will be taken against the guilty.”
The opposition, however, is not calm. RJD leader Manoj Jha wrote a letter to the Commissioner demanding CCTV security in the strong room. The Congress also called it a 'question on the credibility of the Election Commission'. However, the Election Commission has repeatedly said that rumours should not be believed and that the process is transparent.
The second phase of Bihar will be held on November 11 and the third phase on November 18. 64.6 percent voting was recorded in the first phase. Due to this incident, election workers have been ordered to be more vigilant. The Commission said that the process of destroying mock poll papers will be strictly followed.
Although this incident exposes the negligence of the election machinery, the Commission is of the firm opinion that the sanctity of voting is intact. The Commission has appealed to the people of Bihar to stay away from rumours.
Mock Poll or Mistake? VVPAT Slips Thrown in Garbage in Sarai Ranjan; ARO Suspended, FIR Filed – Election Process Safe!
Samastipur, November 8, 2025: There was a huge commotion the very next day after the voting in the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections. Thousands of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slips coming out of EVMs were found thrown on the side of the road and in a garbage dump near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan Assembly constituency in Samastipur district. These slips were found in Gudma area near Shitalpatti village, due to which the opposition parties raised questions about the election process itself.
The video of the incident quickly went viral on social media. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared two videos from its official Twitter handle and made serious allegations. “A large number of VVPAT slips issued from EVMs were found thrown on the road near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan constituency of Samastipur. When, how, why and on whose instructions were these slips thrown? Will the ‘Thief Commission’ answer?” wrote the RJD. The party called it a conspiracy to ‘steal votes’ and wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Taking cognizance of the matter, Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar immediately ordered Samastipur District Collector Roshan Kushwaha to visit the spot and conduct an inquiry. The District Collector seized the slips in the presence of the candidates. Preliminary investigation revealed that all these slips were from a ‘mock poll’ conducted to test the EVM-VVPAT before the polls. Mock polls are mandatory at 5.30 am on 5 percent of the machines at each polling station. The slips issued from this are mandatory to be destroyed in a shredder machine, but due to negligence, they were thrown away.
“Since these are mock poll slips, the integrity of the voting process is completely safe. Candidates have been informed about this,” Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar clarified. However, Sarai Ranjan’s Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) Arvind Kumar Sahni was immediately suspended for negligence. An FIR has been filed against him and action will also be taken against four employees. The CCTV footage shows the slips being spread by a sweeper at 6.12 am. The technical team again did a 100 percent check by matching the VVPAT-EVM.
District Collector Roshan Kushwaha told the media, “We reached the spot. The slips were seized in front of the candidates. Since these are mock poll slips, there is no impact on the voting. Strict action will be taken against the guilty.” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary also assured that “strict action will be taken against the guilty.”
The opposition, however, is not calm. RJD leader Manoj Jha wrote a letter to the Commissioner demanding CCTV security in the strong room. The Congress also called it a 'question on the credibility of the Election Commission'. However, the Election Commission has repeatedly said that rumours should not be believed and that the process is transparent.
The second phase of Bihar will be held on November 11 and the third phase on November 18. 64.6 percent voting was recorded in the first phase. Due to this incident, election workers have been ordered to be more vigilant. The Commission said that the process of destroying mock poll papers will be strictly followed.
Although this incident exposes the negligence of the election machinery, the Commission is of the firm opinion that the sanctity of voting is intact. The Commission has appealed to the people of Bihar to stay away from rumours.
Samastipur, November 8, 2025: There was a huge commotion the very next day after the voting in the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections. Thousands of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slips coming out of EVMs were found thrown on the side of the road and in a garbage dump near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan Assembly constituency in Samastipur district. These slips were found in Gudma area near Shitalpatti village, due to which the opposition parties raised questions about the election process itself.
The video of the incident quickly went viral on social media. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared two videos from its official Twitter handle and made serious allegations. “A large number of VVPAT slips issued from EVMs were found thrown on the road near KSR College in Sarai Ranjan constituency of Samastipur. When, how, why and on whose instructions were these slips thrown? Will the ‘Thief Commission’ answer?” wrote the RJD. The party called it a conspiracy to ‘steal votes’ and wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Taking cognizance of the matter, Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar immediately ordered Samastipur District Collector Roshan Kushwaha to visit the spot and conduct an inquiry. The District Collector seized the slips in the presence of the candidates. Preliminary investigation revealed that all these slips were from a ‘mock poll’ conducted to test the EVM-VVPAT before the polls. Mock polls are mandatory at 5.30 am on 5 percent of the machines at each polling station. The slips issued from this are mandatory to be destroyed in a shredder machine, but due to negligence, they were thrown away.
“Since these are mock poll slips, the integrity of the voting process is completely safe. Candidates have been informed about this,” Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar clarified. However, Sarai Ranjan’s Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) Arvind Kumar Sahni was immediately suspended for negligence. An FIR has been filed against him and action will also be taken against four employees. The CCTV footage shows the slips being spread by a sweeper at 6.12 am. The technical team again did a 100 percent check by matching the VVPAT-EVM.
District Collector Roshan Kushwaha told the media, “We reached the spot. The slips were seized in front of the candidates. Since these are mock poll slips, there is no impact on the voting. Strict action will be taken against the guilty.” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary also assured that “strict action will be taken against the guilty.”
The opposition, however, is not calm. RJD leader Manoj Jha wrote a letter to the Commissioner demanding CCTV security in the strong room. The Congress also called it a 'question on the credibility of the Election Commission'. However, the Election Commission has repeatedly said that rumours should not be believed and that the process is transparent.
The second phase of Bihar will be held on November 11 and the third phase on November 18. 64.6 percent voting was recorded in the first phase. Due to this incident, election workers have been ordered to be more vigilant. The Commission said that the process of destroying mock poll papers will be strictly followed.
Although this incident exposes the negligence of the election machinery, the Commission is of the firm opinion that the sanctity of voting is intact. The Commission has appealed to the people of Bihar to stay away from rumours.
