ECI launches capacity-building programme for field-level officers from Bihar, Haryana and Delhi

IANS May 14, 2025 186 views

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated a two-day training program for Booth Level Officers and Supervisors in New Delhi. The program, held at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, involves 371 electoral officers from Bihar, Haryana, and Delhi. This initiative is part of ECI's efforts to enhance grassroots electoral management, with over 2,600 officers trained recently. Participants will be equipped with skills in electoral procedures, voter registration, and IT tools, ensuring they follow current electoral laws and regulations.

"Participants will go on to train other BLOs in their respective states." - Gyanesh Kumar
New Delhi, May 14: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday inaugurated a two-day capacity-building training programme for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), BLO Supervisors, and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) from Haryana and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Key Points

1

Training at IIIDEM in New Delhi

2

Over 2,600 officials trained in two months

3

Focus on voter registration and field operations

4

Includes practical sessions on EVMs and VVPATs

The training is being held at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.

A total of 371 grassroots electoral officers are participating in the programme -- including 306 BLOs from Bihar, 30 EROs and BLO Supervisors from Haryana, and 35 from Delhi.

With this batch, more than 2,600 field-level officials have been trained by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the past two months in New Delhi.

In his address, the CEC announced that standardised identity cards would soon be issued to BLOs to facilitate their door-to-door verification duties. He added that participants of this training would go on to train other BLOs in their respective states and union territories.

Emphasising adherence to electoral laws, the CEC reminded the trainees that their responsibilities must be carried out strictly in line with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and the directions issued by the Commission from time to time.

The training programme aims to strengthen participants' practical understanding of electoral procedures, particularly in voter registration, form handling, and field-level operations.

It includes orientation on the appeal mechanisms under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950 -- with first appeals made to the District Magistrate/Collector or Executive Magistrate under Section 24(a), and second appeals to the Chief Electoral Officer under Section 24(b).

It may be noted that no appeals were filed from Bihar, Haryana, or Delhi following the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise conducted from January 6 to 10 this year.

The curriculum features interactive sessions, role plays, simulated door-to-door surveys, case studies, and hands-on exercises for Forms 6, 7, and 8.

Participants will also receive practical training on the Voter Helpline App (VHA) and other IT tools. Technical sessions on the operation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), including mock polls, are also part of the programme.

Reader Comments

Here are 6 diverse Indian perspective comments for the news article:
R
Rajesh K.
This is a much-needed initiative! Our BLOs are the backbone of fair elections. Standardized ID cards will give them more authority during verification. Hope they focus on urban areas where voter list errors are more common. 🇮🇳
P
Priya M.
Good to see Bihar getting special focus - their voter turnout has improved but still needs work. The role-play exercises sound innovative! Maybe they should also train BLOs on handling political pressure during elections.
A
Amit S.
While training is welcome, ECI should ensure these officers actually implement what they learn. In my Delhi colony, BLOs rarely visit unless there's an election coming up. Accountability measures needed!
N
Neha T.
The Voter Helpline App training is crucial! My parents in Haryana struggled to correct their voter details until a tech-savvy BLO helped. More digital literacy at grassroots level = better democracy ✨
S
Sanjay V.
Impressive that 2600+ officials trained in 2 months! But why only these states? All states need regular training, especially before major elections. ECI should scale this up across India.
K
Kavita R.
The no-appeals statistic is interesting - does it mean perfect implementation or lack of awareness about appeal processes? Maybe training should include how to publicize grievance mechanisms to citizens too.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Your email won't be published


Disclaimer: Comments here reflect the author's views alone. Insulting or using offensive language against individuals, communities, religion, or the nation is illegal.

Tags:
Gyanesh Kumar Election Commission of India BLO Training Bihar Haryana Delhi