New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) initiated a two-day capacity-building training program for electoral officers at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) on Wednesday.
The two-day training program was inaugurated by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and saw participation of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from Bihar, and EROs and BLO Supervisors from Haryana, NCT of Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.
The training program is part of the Election Commission’s ongoing preparations for the upcoming elections to the Legislative Assemblies. A total of 369 grassroots election officials are taking part in this mixed-batch training program.
Addressing the gathering, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that the BLOs and EROs, along with Booth Level Agents (BLAs), share the onus of ensuring correct and updated electoral rolls and also stressed on the need to augment their skills as well as necessary infrastructure.
The participants were familiarized 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 the RP Act 1950 and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State/UT under section 24(b) respectively.
The curriculum also included 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.
Notably, 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. The officials will also be provided with technical demonstrations and training of EVMs and VVPATs.
Earlier this month, around 280 BLAs from Bihar of 10 recognized political parties were also trained at IIDEM.
(IANS)
