New Delhi | Ahead of polls to five assemblies this month, Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday reminded of an instruction that allows a returning officer to recommend a repoll at a polling station where webcasting is found to be deliberately interrupted.

The EC officials were responding to a question on the possibility of disruptions at polling stations by political workers and ways to deal with such instances.

Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will go to polls on April 9. Tamil Nadu will have polling on April 23, along with the first phase in West Bengal where the second phase of voting is scheduled for April 29.

The officials said if a returning officer is convinced of a mala-fide intent in webcasting going off air at a polling station, he can explain the circumstances to the election authority while recommending a repoll under the "adjourned poll" instruction.

Webcasting is an internal arrangement of the EC intended to keep an eye on the voting process at polling stations.

There have been demands to share the webcasting data from political parties and activists, but the EC has changed rules to prevent it. The poll panel can share the webcasting data if ordered by a high court or the Supreme Court.

The EC has issued instructions for webcasting inside and outside all polling stations in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry for the purpose of monitoring the poll process.