Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (Left)

PUDUCHERRY: Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the purity of the electoral roll is the bedrock of democracy and affirmed that no eligible voter has been excluded and no ineligible person has been included on the final voters’ list after the special intensive revision (SIR) process.Kumar was here on Wednesday, leading a seven-member team to meet with Puducherry officials to review preparedness for the 2026 assembly polls in the Union territory. Outlining new initiatives to be introduced in the upcoming elections while briefing reporters, Kumar said the commission had decided to set up mobile deposit counters at all polling booths and to print colour photographs of the candidates on the ballot units, following requests from people, as they could not identify candidates with black-and-white photos.Kumar said polling in Puducherry has been peaceful, fair and transparent with high voter turnout (above 85%) in the past and added that Puducherry has emerged as a model for the rest of the country in the conduct of elections. He said all polling stations (1,099) in Puducherry would be equipped with webcasting facilities. To a query on the distribution of freebies even before the political parties have finalised the alliance and announced their candidates, Kumar said the commission would curb the malpractice once the model code of conduct comes into force. “We have issued strict directions to enforcement agencies to prevent such malpractices and to ensure a free, fair and transparent electoral process,” he said.Earlier, Kumar, along with election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, interacted with representatives of recognised national and state political parties and elicited their views and opinions in smooth conduct of polls. The seven-member team included deputy election commissioners Manish Garg, Pawan Kumar Sharma and Sanjay Kumar and director general Ashish Goyal.