The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken another unprecedented step by training field-level election functionaries from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the Tamil language.

The poll panel has now crossed the milestone of training over 2,300 field-level election officials at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).

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According to an official statement released on Wednesday, 293 participants—including 264 BLO Supervisors, 14 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 2 District Election Officers (DEOs), and other officials—are part of the current mixed-batch training programme being conducted at IIIDEM.

In his inaugural address, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar highlighted the vital role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), stating that they are the first interface between the ECI and voters and are instrumental in ensuring accurate and up-to-date electoral rolls.

With this initiative, nearly 2,300 election officials have benefited from intensive training programmes conducted at IIIDEM in recent weeks.

According to the ECI, the two-day training programme is part of a comprehensive strategy to train election functionaries at all levels, with a goal to cover over one lakh BLOs across the country in the coming years.

The BLO Supervisors are being trained through interactive sessions and role plays to ensure accurate completion of various electoral forms, including Forms 6, 7, and 8. The training module also includes practical sessions on using IT-based electoral tools and applications.

Participants were additionally educated on the legal framework concerning appeals against final published electoral rolls.

They were familiarized with the provisions of first and second appeals—filed with the District Magistrate (DM) or an officer of equivalent rank under Section 24(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State/UT under Section 24(b), respectively.

It may be noted that no appeals were filed from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry following the completion of the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise held from 6th to 10th January 2025.