Over 3,000 Election Staff Now Trained Nationwide as New Jharkhand Batch Starts in Delhi

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday inaugurated a two-day capacity-building programme for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Supervisors, and other election officials from Jharkhand at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi.

According to an official statement from the Election Commission of India (ECI), a total of 402 participants—including District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), BLOs, and BLO Supervisors—are attending the training. Over the past three months, the Commission has trained more than 3,000 such election functionaries from across the country at IIIDEM.

In his address, CEC Gyanesh Kumar lauded the dedication and grassroots-level efforts of Jharkhand’s electoral officials, particularly in the area of voter enrolment. He also urged participants to enhance public awareness about the appellate provisions under Sections 24(a) and 24(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

These provisions allow electors to file first appeals with the District Magistrate, District Collector, or Executive Magistrate, and second appeals with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the respective State or Union Territory. Notably, no appeals were filed from Jharkhand following the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise held between January 6 and 10, reflecting the effectiveness of the preparatory work.

The training programme focuses on equipping participants with comprehensive knowledge of electoral laws, including the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and updated instructions issued by the ECI.

The curriculum features interactive sessions, role plays, simulations of house-to-house surveys, and hands-on exercises for accurately filling Forms 6, 7, and 8. In addition, participants will receive practical training on the Voter Helpline App (VHA) and various IT tools used in electoral management. Demonstrations on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), and mock poll procedures are also part of the programme