‘Mr Ballot Box’ arrives at Patna ahead of Prez polls

PATNA: Especially designated by the Election Commission (EC), ‘Mr Ballot Box’ arrived at Patna by Air India (AI)-415 flight on Wednesday for use in the presidential election to be held on July 18. “Mr Ballot Box reached the Patna airport around 7pm. It has also been duly sealed,” a senior official from the office of the state chief election officer said.
While the ballot boxes used in the presidential election were given the nomenclature Mr Ballot Box by the EC way back in 1960, its transportation was facilitated through Air India. Mr Ballot Box, while on journey to a particular state, occupies the first row in the economy class having sufficient leg space.
As to the presidential election this year, the EC had started sending the ‘Mr Ballot Boxes’ to the states on Tuesday. A team of two Bihar officials – deputy chief election officer Ashok Priyadarshi and the state assembly deputy secretary Pawan Kumar Sinha – received the ballot box from the EC for transportation to Patna on Wednesday.
On arrival at Patna, the ballot box, along with special ballot papers, pen and other materials to be used in the presidential election was taken to the strong room, where it was duly sealed.