First State in India to Enable Voting via Mobile App
Context: Bihar Becomes First State in India to Enable Voting via Mobile App
Bihar became the first Indian state to introduce mobile phone voting, during municipal bypolls and elections in six Nagar Panchayats across districts like Patna, Buxar, Rohtas, and East Champaran.
Key Highlights:
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E-voting through mobile phones was facilitated for senior citizens, disabled persons, and pregnant women using the E-SECBHR mobile app.
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The first e-vote in India was cast by Bibha Kumari, a resident of Pakridayal (East Champaran); Munna Kumar from the same district was the first male e-voter.
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The app was developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
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Voting was held for 538 candidates across 489 booths, with the option of traditional EVMs still available.
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The State Election Commission (SEC) also enabled e-voting via its official website.
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Security features included:
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Blockchain technology
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Face-matching
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Voter ID verification
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Mobile number linking (two voters per number limit)
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This marks a major milestone in India’s electoral digitization, aiming to improve convenience, inclusivity, and voter turnout.