Following the completion of the first phase of voting in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Election Commission has introduced stringent guidelines for managing surveillance cameras and video data. The primary goal is to ensure the integrity of the voting process and eliminate any potential for tampering, as confirmed by a senior official.

According to the newly issued guidelines on Thursday, memory cards from the cameras at polling stations cannot be removed immediately after voting concludes. Only authorized personnel will be allowed to detach the cameras, which will then remain under the supervision of sector officers.

Camera Security: After voting ends, officials are permitted to only remove the cameras from their stands.

Monitoring by Sector Officers: The removed cameras will be directly monitored by sector officers.

Data Collection: Memory cards can only be extracted at the designated 'receiving center' in the presence of the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO).

The election official emphasized that all video footage recorded during the voting must be preserved securely and systematically. He stated, 'No member of the polling team or Booth Level Officer (BLO) can leave the polling station until the camera equipment is completely removed.'

In addition, the official announced that a trial for webcasting for the second phase of voting will commence on Friday morning. This exercise will be conducted in three stages.

The first phase of voting for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly took place on Thursday, while the second phase is scheduled for April 29. The counting of votes will occur on May 4.