Election Commission Just Deployed AI To Watch Bengal's Polling Booths

The Election Commission has deployed an AI system to monitor Bengal's polling booths live, flagging trouble and alerting security teams within minutes on voting day.

West Bengal heads into its last voting phase with an AI-powered eye on every booth.

Source : PTI

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• AI video analytics to monitor West Bengal polling booths.
• System flags troubled booths in real time for swift response.
• Cloud storage and local backups ensure data integrity.

West Bengal Election 2026: The Election Commission of India is deploying an artificial intelligence-based video analytics programme to monitor polling booths across West Bengal, as the state heads into its last phase of voting tomorrow. The system will analyse live footage from webcasting cameras and flag signs of trouble in real time, allowing authorities to identify problematic booths and send security forces without delay. 

A trial run of the webcasting arrangements across all polling booths has begun from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, with officials from central forces, Kolkata Police, state police, and Election Commission representatives working together to ensure smooth streaming on polling day.

How The AI Monitoring System Will Work At Bengal's Polling Booths

"Artificial intelligence will help identify troubled booths in real time, enabling sector teams to reach the spot within 15-20 minutes," an EC official said. 

Once an alert is generated, micro observers will verify the feed and inform the observer, returning officer, or sector officer, depending on the situation.

Control rooms have been set up at multiple levels, including offices of returning officers, district election officers, the Chief Electoral Officer, and EC headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan. 

Each screen will display live footage from 12 booths of an assembly constituency at a time, with micro observers rotating feeds to cover all polling stations. 

Observers will also be able to access live footage on their mobile devices. The Election Commission will directly monitor every stage of the trial run from Delhi.

What Happens If Cameras Are Tampered With On Polling Day

To protect data, all webcams will be connected to cloud storage, while micro SD cards will store day-long footage locally as backup.

On concerns about possible camera tampering, the EC said sector teams equipped with technicians and spare cameras will respond immediately. "Any such incident will be acted upon promptly, and a repoll may be ordered," the official added.

The initiative is aimed at strengthening booth-level surveillance and ensuring a transparent voting process as Bengal concludes its final phase of polling tomorrow.

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