The country will soon have electoral rolls with photographs of voters to check bogus voting, Election Commissioner Navin Chawla has said.The Indian Election Commission has earned "enormous credibility" and appreciation within the country but still is continuously updating its skills and procedures to ensure free and fair polls, he said addressing the India American Chamber of Commerce in New York.The Commission is using information technology in a big way and is in the process of having electoral rolls with the photographs of electors to avoid the possibility of fraud, Chawla said.Another important aspect is the updating of the electoral roll, the poll panel member said pointing to the recently held elections in Karnataka where the voters' list was updated within three months with about 5.5 million names removed and another 2.5 million added to the rolls."Indian people are satisfied with the efforts made by the Election Commission," he said during an interaction on Monday. Chawla, who has been accused by main opposition BJP of "partisan" conduct, said the Commission takes the work of ensuring impartiality very seriously.Any complaint received by the Commission is promptly investigated and if any substance is found, steps are taken to correct it including excluding the official from the electoral process, he said.Chawla said the model code of conduct has become a very "effective" tool in disciplining contesting candidates and political parties during elections to create a level-playing field. Chawla praised the political parties who had themselves signed an agreement to regulate their conduct during the election campaign and said that it has been used by the Commission to create a level playing field.The major advantage of voluntary code is that there were no big political battles and formalities of going through legalities were avoided, Chawla said."The code has become a very effective tool in disciplining the contesting candidates and political parties during their electoral campaign and is extensively used in during all elections," he said.In this context, he said the Commission has the backing of the Supreme Court which has endorsed vast powers for it during the election. Even the apex court itself does not intervene in the conduct of election during the period poll is being held.Chawla said special care is taken to ensure that the electronic voting machines are not tampered with at any stage of the electoral process and monitors are posted in polling station to oversee the elections.
