Bihar has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian state to implement mobile-based e-voting using Polygon blockchain technology during its recent municipal by-elections. The pilot project encompassed 42 municipalities across 26 districts, including six nagar panchayats and 36 wards for vacant posts. The system was made available to 51,157 registered voters, achieving a turnout between 69.49 percent and 70.2 percent, marking a substantial improvement over traditional voting methods.
Building on Estonia’s pioneering e-voting system, the implementation featured two mobile applications for voter access. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) developed the e-Voting SECBHR app, while the Bihar State Election Commission created a separate application to facilitate voter participation. The system incorporated facial recognition and biometric data verification to confirm voter identity and prevent duplicate voting, with these verification measures integrated into the Polygon blockchain.
The technical infrastructure used a hybrid blockchain approach that addresses both security and scalability concerns. A private blockchain called Doc Chain, developed by Print2Block, handled internal processing, while final vote proofs were anchored to the Polygon public blockchain. The dual-chain architecture ensures votes are securely recorded, immutable, transparent, tamper-proof, and publicly verifiable, while maintaining the efficiency needed for large-scale electoral operations.
“The outcome is transparent, tamper-proof, and publicly verifiable,” said Aishwary Gupta, Global Head – Payments & RWA at Polygon. “It is a strong example of how public and private chains can work together to solve real-world challenges. This is a proud moment for all of us at Polygon and a meaningful step forward for digital democracy.”
The implementation follows established protocols for secure e-voting systems, building on emerging standards in biometric authentication for voting. While the pilot was conducted with a limited voter base, it demonstrated the viability of blockchain-based mobile e-voting in a large-scale democratic context. The initiative is part of India’s broader digital modernization efforts and provides a potential model for other Indian states and nations seeking to modernize their electoral processes with enhanced security and accessibility features.
The success of this pilot program builds upon India’s ongoing electoral digitization efforts, which include the implementation of unique voter IDs and other technological improvements aimed at increasing electoral participation while maintaining security and transparency.
Sources: CCN, Binance Profile
