Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated a two-day capacity-building training programme for grassroots election officials at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) here on Wednesday.
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from Bihar, and EROs and BLO Supervisors from Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh would be trained in the programme.
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In his address, the CEC said that the BLOs and EROs along with the Booth Level Agents (BLAs) are responsible for ensuring correct and updated electoral rolls and they are to function strictly as per the Representation of People Act 1950, Registration of Electors Rules 1960, and instructions issued by the ECI from time to time.
Notably, earlier this month, around 280 BLAs from Bihar of 10 recognised political parties were also trained at the IIDEM.
The training is designed to enhance participants’ practical understanding, especially in the areas of voter registration, form handling, and field-level implementation of electoral procedures, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The officials will also be provided with technical demonstrations and training on EVMs and VVPATs.
The participants will also be familiarised with the provisions of first and second appeals against the final electoral rolls as published with the DM/District Collector/Executive Magistrate under section 24(a) of RP Act 1950 and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State/UT under section 24(b) respectively.
No appeals were filed from Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi after the completion of the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise as of January 6-10.
The curriculum includes interactive sessions, role plays simulating house-to-house surveys, case studies, and hands-on exercises for filling Forms 6, 6A, 7, and 8. Additionally, participants will receive practical training on the Voter Helpline App (VHA) and the BLO App.
Sessions are being conducted by experienced National Level Master Trainers (NLMTs) and expert Resource Persons from the IT and EVM Divisions of the Commission. The sessions are interactive and will address common field-level errors and how to avoid them.
A total of 369 grassroots election officials are taking part in this mixed-batch training programme.