ECI Intensifies Training for Grassroots Election Officers

ECI Intensifies Training for Grassroots Election Officers

the training involves technical demonstrations and hands-on training for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), including conducting mock polls.

By RMN News Service

New Delhi – The Election Commission of India (ECI) has commenced a significant training program for grassroots election functionaries, with the eighth batch of Booth Level Officer (BLO) Supervisors beginning their training today (May 29) at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Gyanesh Kumar, addressed the participants, who include BLOs, BLO Supervisors, and Electoral Registration Officers from Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. This batch marks the largest group of grassroots election officials to be trained at IIIDEM yet, comprising 373 participants. Specifically, there are 118 from Uttar Pradesh, 130 from Madhya Pradesh, 96 from Chhattisgarh, and 29 from Haryana. With this latest batch, the ECI has now trained over 3,720 field officials in New Delhi over the last two months.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar emphasized that these training programs are “essential to ensure that elections are conducted strictly in accordance with the Representation of People Act 1950, 1951, Registration of Electors Rules 1960, Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and the instructions issued by the ECI from time to time”.

[ Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Attacks India Election Body Credibility in US ]

The training curriculum is specifically designed to enhance participants’ practical understanding . Key areas of focus include voter registration, handling various electoral forms, and the practical implementation of electoral procedures at the field level . Participants also receive practical training on essential IT tools . Furthermore, the training involves technical demonstrations and hands-on training for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), including conducting mock polls.

A crucial part of the training involves familiarizing officials with the provisions for first and second appeals against the final electoral rolls. This includes understanding the process for appeals filed with the District Magistrate/District Collector/Executive Magistrate under section 24(a) of the RP Act 1950, as well as appeals filed with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State/Union Territory under section 24(b) of the same Act.

CEC Kumar specifically encouraged BLOs and BLO Supervisors to actively inform electors about these appeal provisions during their field verification duties. It is noteworthy that no appeals were filed from these four states after the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise completed in January 2025.