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News18
29-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
CEC Gyanesh Kumar Completes 100 Days: Here Are 21 Reforms Launched By Election Commission
Last Updated: These initiatives come at a time when the ECI has faced considerable scrutiny following various elections Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who took charge of the Election Commission of India on February 19, completed 100 days in office on Thursday. In recent weeks, the ECI, under his leadership, has introduced numerous reforms and changes to provide a smoother experience for both voters and political parties while also streamlining election management. In a statement, the commission said, 'A slew of purposeful, pragmatic and proactive measures has marked the first 100 days of the 26th Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's tenure. The vision for a reinvigorated ECI was charted out by the CEC in the presence of Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi during the Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) held in March 2025." These initiatives come at a time when the ECI has faced considerable scrutiny following various elections. Voters first Several voter-centric initiatives have been launched, including guidelines for setting up additional polling booths in high-rises and residential colonies to reduce travel time for voters. The commission has also reduced the maximum number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200, minimising waiting times. Electoral roll updates will now incorporate death registration data directly from the Registrar General of India (RGI) database, subject to verification. This replaces the previous system where a family member had to file Form 7 for the deletion of a deceased voter's name. Voter information slips will be made more user-friendly, with prominent display of serial and part numbers. Furthermore, mobile phone deposit facilities will be provided outside polling stations, addressing a previous logistical challenge for voters. The commission has also replaced all duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers with unique identifiers. In total, 28 stakeholders, including electors, election officials, political parties, and candidates, have been identified within the electoral process. Reforms are being implemented with each of these stakeholders in mind. Training presentations based on the commission's acts, rules, and instructions are being developed for each stakeholder group. Engagement with political parties To enhance trust with political parties, the commission has introduced reforms to improve communication and address concerns. Over 4,700 all-party meetings have been conducted across India at the electoral registration officer (ERO), district election officer (DEO), and chief electoral officer (CEO) levels, involving more than 28,000 party representatives. CEOs oversee elections at the state level, DEOs at the district level, and EROs at the assembly constituency level. These decentralised meetings ensure that party workers at all levels remain informed throughout the electoral process. The commission is also meeting national and state party leaders. Of the six national parties, the CEC has met the presidents of five: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and National People's Party (NPP). Further meetings are planned after the current by-elections. Canvassing distance norms have been relaxed, allowing candidates and parties to set up booths beyond 100 metres, compared to the previous 200-metre limit. Capacity-building programmes for booth-level agents have been conducted in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. Internal changes and capacity building The commission has launched ECINET, a new integrated dashboard providing all services for all stakeholders at a single point, replacing over 40 apps and websites. A national conference of counsels representing the ECI and CEOs was organised to strengthen synergy and refine the legal framework. Standardised photo ID cards for booth-level officers (BLOs) have also been introduced. Training has been conducted for over 3,500 booth-level supervisors, with an additional 6,000 BLOs/BLO supervisors scheduled for training in the next 45 days across approximately 20 batches. Regular meetings between the ECI and CEOs of all 36 states/union territories are being held to improve coordination between their offices and various ECI divisions. First Published:
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delay in recognising school correspondent irks teachers
Seven teachers from Kamaraj Middle School at South Kallikulam in the district staged a sit-in protest at District Registrar Office (DRO) in Tirunelveli demanding recognition of their school correspondent as the delay was affecting teachers' salaries and other benefits. Kamaraj Middle School, a minority government aided institution operating under the Catholic Christian Nadar Mahimai Association, is currently functioning with 250 students and seven teachers. An election for the association was conducted through a ballot system on October 27, last year, during which retired teacher S. Mariyaraj was elected as the new president, who is also the correspondent of the school. Following that, Mr. Mariyaraj submitted a formal application for registration under Form 7 at the DRO office on November 20, 2024. Although the DRO accepted the application, the registration process has been delayed for over six months. Due to this delay, the appointment letter for the school correspondent, issued by the District Educational Officer has not been processed. As a result, Mr. Mariyaraj has been unable to sign off on teachers' salaries and other financial matters. Leons Lettiezia Thangam, Head Mistress of the school, said that she has been working in the school for the past 30 years and this was the first time where official matters have affected the salaries of the teachers. 'Apart from salary issues we are unable to obtain an annual genuinity certificate. I am set to retire on June 30. While the retiring procedures for staff from other schools have been completed, mine has not even begun,' she added. The teachers along with their families are urging the government to take necessary steps to resolve the issue, as the delay could impact the reputation of the school.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Cong alleges multiple discrepancies in Ludh west voter list
Ludhiana: After the administration released the voter list for the Ludhiana West bypoll , the Congress claimed to have found multiple discrepancies in the voter lists, for which the party will file objections. Congress alleged that about 40 votes in ward number 65 of Haibowal area had been excluded from the list. The party also said that the people whose votes had been excluded had been exercising their franchise for years. In ward number 72, Jawahar Nagar area, the Congress claimed to have detected double votes for people with separate voter card the MC elections, several voters said that their names had been struck off the voter list. They said that since their names were not on the list, they were not allowed to cast their vote despite producing voter cards. The Congress blamed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for this. When Ludhiana West bypoll was announced after the sudden demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, the Congress raised suspicion of discrepancies in the list again. With the beginning of the electoral roll revision process in the constituency, Congress leaders claimed that a few voter lists were being manipulated. On March 31, Punjab Congress Working president, who is also Congress candidate for the bypoll, Bharat Bhushan Ashu , complained to the Election Commission of India about the manipulation of voter list by the Aam Aadmi Party govt. In a letter to the ECI, Ashu alleged that the AAP govt was deleting names from voter lists "summarily and arbitrarily" without giving any chance to the voters concerned. Ashu claimed that he had enclosed voice recordings of additional deputy commissioner, Ludhiana, Rupinder Pal, instructing Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to fill Form 7 to delete names from voter lists. Ashu also said that most BLOs refused to do so. He claimed that the local administration was making fresh votes to neutralise the impact of deleting a massive number of voters on the instructions of the Aam Aadmi Party govt."Our team checked the draft list of voters and found discrepancies. In Haibowal's ward number 65, about 135 voters were cancelled, of which about 40 genuine votes were also struck off. In fact, BLOs said that these were genuine votes but despite that, their names were deleted from the list. In Jawahar Nagar's ward number 72, multiple votes of one person were found. We are sending objections to get it all rectified," Ashu asserted. On April 12, there was uproar in Ghumar Mandi when Congress leader Inderjit Singh Indi, a close associate of Ashu, claimed to have caught a few individuals trying to manipulate the voter list. Two such incidents were reported in ward Number 61, Ghumar Mandi and Prem Nagar. Congress leaders said that they caught a few persons asking residents about their votes and "crossing" names of a few voters in the list. Indi alleged that these people were engaging residents in conversation to ascertain their political inclinations and which party they were likely to vote for. Indi said that based on this exercise, AAP was trying to get names of those critical of the state government removed from the list."After these incidents, we assigned one person from each ward to visit the DC office to keep a check on updates made in the electoral roll. There were attempts at making new, bulk votes, however, we kept a check daily and kept objecting to the bogus votes," Ashu said. Charges levelled Congress allegations : Discrepancies found in the Ludhiana West bypoll voter list Ward 65: About 40 votes excludedWard 72: Double votes detected with separate voter card IDs Previous Issues: Voters' names missing during MC elections. People not allowed to vote despite producing voter card Blame: Congress accuses AAP of manipulating voter lists Complaint to ECI: Congress leader and bypoll candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu will file a complaint with the Election Commission of India DC's response: Deputy commissioner/district election officer, Himanshu Jain, said, "I have not received any such complaint yet. I will direct the ERO to address each concern on priority once it is received. De-duplication of votes will be addressed immediately. As far as the issue of votes is concerned, the ERO will get it checked through the BLO. Genuine votes can be made till the last day of nominations."Ashu's claimOur team checked the draft list of voters and found discrepancies. In Haibowal's ward number 65, about 135 voters were cancelled, of which about 40 genuine votes were also struck off. In fact, BLOs said that these were genuine votes but despite that, their names were deleted from the list. In Jawahar Nagar's ward number 72, multiple votes of one person were found. We are sending objections to get it all rectifiedMSID:: 121109519 413 |
India Today
02-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Digital linking of death certificates among poll body's key electoral reforms
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a series of significant measures aimed at enhancing the accuracy of electoral rolls and increasing transparency in the electoral process. The development came amid ongoing concerns raised by opposition parties regarding the integrity of voter initiatives include the digital integration of death certificates, issuance of photo ID cards for booth-level officers, and a redesigned voter information slip for better clarity. These steps are intended to strengthen the credibility of the electoral rolls and promote greater transparency throughout the election INTEGRATION OF DEATH CERTIFICATESadvertisementA key initiative involves the digital integration of death certificate data. The poll body will now digitally obtain death registration data directly from the Registrar General of India, which will expedite and improve the accuracy of removing deceased individuals from electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will receive timely death data, empowering Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct efficient field verifications without the need for formal Form 7 requests. This streamlined process promises to maintain more up-to-date electoral ID CARDS FOR BOOTH-LEVEL OFFICERS To further enhance public trust and facilitate easier identification, the Commission has mandated the issuance of standard photo identity cards for all Booth Level Officers (BLO). These officers, who serve as a vital link between the Election Commission and voters, will now carry identification cards featuring their measure addresses previous concerns about the difficulty citizens and polling agents faced in identifying BLOs, thereby increasing transparency during house-to-house verification, registration campaigns and other electoral processes. ID card for BLOs. REDESIGNED VOTER INFORMATION SLIPSIn another voter-centric move, the Election Commission has redesigned Voter Information Slips (VIS) for improved clarity. The serial number and part number of each voter will now be printed in a larger font size, enabling voters to easily locate their designated polling stations. This enhancement will also assist polling officials in efficiently locating voter names on the electoral Watch
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Election Commission to implement electronic death data integration to clean voter rolls
Representative image NEW DELHI: Introducing an important reform aimed at cleaning the electoral roll, the Election Commission on Thursday said it would obtain deaths registration data electronically from Registrar General of India, which maintains mandatory database of all births and deaths in line with the amendments made to Registration of Births and Deaths Act (RBD Act) in 2023. This would eliminate the dependence on field visits by the booth level officers (BLO) to gather data on dead voters in a household, so that they can be removed from the roll. The BLO will, however, still be required to make field visits to re-verify the information of deaths received from the RGI database, said an EC official. In two other reforms approved by commission on Thursday, the format of the voter information slips shall be revised to prominently display voter details; and standard photo identity cards issued to all BLOs to help the citizens recognise them and verify their identity. While the redesigned voter slip will make it easier for the electors to identify their polling station and for the polling officials to efficiently locate their names in the roll, the identity cards will help the citizens interact with BLOs more confidently during house-to-house visits for voter verification and registration. As per the system followed so far for dead voters, either their kin could apply through Form 7 for removal of the deceased elector from the roll, followed by a verification visit by the BLO, or the BLO would himself initiate the process during a field visit for roll updation. Form 7 would then be processed by the ERO to remove the dead voter permanently from the roll. However, this process sometimes involved a time-lag between death of a voter and his removal from the roll, creating scope for bogus or unnecessary entries. 'The Commission will now obtain death registration data electronically from the RGI in line with Rule 9 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and Section 3(5)(b) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023). This will ensure that the EROs receive timely information about registered deaths. This will also enable BLOs to re-verify the information through field visits, without waiting for a formal request under Form 7,' EC said in a statement issued on Thursday. Sources said while the RBD (Amendment) Act, 2023, also allows RGI to share births database with the EC — since it can help ascertain when a citizen by birth turns 18 years of age and should be enrolled, this reform may need to wait longer as registration of births and deaths was made mandatory only in 2023. 'For now, EC is focusing on getting data on deaths,' a senior officer told TOI.
