Latest news with #BLOs
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
ECI to auto-remove names of deceased voters using integrated death data; experts warn of implementation challenges
Pune: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to integrate electronic death data to update voter rolls, but experts caution that physical verification is still necessary because of potential delays in updating death records and data discrepancies. ECI introduced this reform last month to obtain death registration data electronically from the Registrar General of India, which maintains a mandatory database following 2023 amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. This would eliminate dependence on booth level officers' field visits to gather data on deceased voters. V Ramani, former director general of Yashada, emphasised that the Representation of People's Act mandated specific procedures for deletion and addition of names. "Even if ECI has recommended using electronic data from birth and death registration, there is no guarantee that it is completely updated. There's a good chance that unless the data is foolproof, names will be accidentally deleted, considering the sheer volume involved," he said. Ramani argued that traditional door-to-door verification by booth-level officers remained more effective. "Checking data from the registration of birth and death may help BLOs double-check information, but they must visit each location to delete names. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esse novo alarme com câmera é quase gratuito em Uberlândia (consulte o preço) Alarmes Undo Else, there could be chaos during elections," he said, while suggesting that the birth and death registration website should serve as a reference tool only, not the primary deletion mechanism. The Registrar General of India (RGI) recently directed hospitals to report births and deaths within 21 days after finding many violations. Instead of immediate reporting, hospitals often wait for relatives to make a request in such cases. In a March 17, 2025 circular, the RGI stated 90% of events were registered, but "100% registration is yet to be achieved". "This shows that updates are not being completed in a timely manner. When the reference data itself is not up to the mark, ECI cannot use this as the benchmark for deleting voter data," Ramani said. Former bureaucrat Mahesh Zagade suggested that integrating birth and death registration data should be treated as a supplementary measure, and not a substitute, for ground verification by BLOs. "What we urgently need is a clean and error-free voter list that addresses both new registrations and the removal of deceased voters," he said. Zagade laid stress on transparency in the integration process, with voter rolls published booth-wise across the state's one lakh polling booths. "Citizens should be able to locate their names easily, raise objections and seek corrections. The BLOs' role in physically verifying and double-checking the data is crucial and must not be diluted," he added. Former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said there should be a system whereby the moment a death certificate was issued, the name on the voter rolls should be deleted. Election officials said they would look into all the recommendations. The officials said they would explore both the options once the data was made available. "It would be thoroughly checked," said a senior election official.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
ECI ramps up efforts to boost voter turnout
Chhapra: With the assembly elections approaching, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has intensified its monitoring and preparations, placing particular emphasis on increasing voter turnout. ECI secretaries Santosh Kumar and Rajiv Kumar said at Sonepur on Saturday that greater attention must be given to young and women voters. They expressed confidence that the ongoing activities under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme would yield positive results. They stressed the importance of identifying polling booths with low voter turnout and mobilising grassroots support. "BLOs, voluntary organisations, Jeevika Didi, ASHA, Sevika and Sahayika must come forward to increase the polling percentage," they said. The officials also stressed the need to intensify SVEEP activities to motivate the electorate and informed that a review of the electoral rolls is currently underway. They urged all eligible but unregistered citizens to ensure their names are included in the voter list. The ECI secretaries also interacted with BLOs who recently returned from training in Delhi, encouraging them to apply their learning effectively on the ground. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mass transfer of Panaji booth-level officers stayed
Panaji: An order for the mass transfer of booth level officers (BLOs) of the Panaji assembly constituency was on Friday kept in abeyance by the office of the deputy collector, sub-divisional officer, and sub-divisional magistrate until further orders. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'The earlier booth level officers shall be retained, and the necessary changes be made in the ERONET system,' the order stated. 'The BLOs concerned, who joined services as per the order dated April 17, 2025, shall forthwith report back to their parent offices. The head offices/departments of the offices concerned are requested to take note of the same,' the order stated. It further directed heads of the departments not to relieve the BLOs. The North Goa collector, who is also the district electoral officer, stated that an inquiry was ordered under the charge of additional collector-I, North Goa, into the mass transfer of BLOs from the Panaji assembly constituency. Elvis Gomes, earlier this month, complained about irregularities in the enrolment of voters in the Panaji constituency, alleging foreign nationals, even Nepali citizens, and people not residing in Goa were being enrolled into the electoral roll. Gomes also complained about the mass transfer of booth level officers of the Panaji constituency. The office of the chief electoral officer has refuted allegations of irregularities with regard to voter enrolment.
NDTV
02-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
2 Or 3 Phases, Space For Diwali And Chhath: Sources On Bihar Election Dates
New Delhi: The 2025 Bihar Assembly Election may be held over two or three phases, Election Commission sources told NDTV Monday. The schedule will be decided keeping Diwali and Chhath Puja in mind, the sources also said. Diwali this year will be on October 20 and Chhath on October 28. The Bihar Assembly term ends on November 22, so the election process (including counting and declaration of results) must be finished before that. Sources said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will visit the state sometime this month to oversee preparations. Meanwhile, the poll panel is training to BLO, or booth level operators to ensure a fair election, and avoid allegations related to voter lists like those made by the Congress and other opposition parties after the 2024 Maharashtra and Haryana elections and the Delhi election in February. The Bharatiya Janata Party romped to victories in all three. In Delhi it thumped the Aam Aadmi Party to claim power in the national capital for the first time in nearly three decades, and in Haryana it overcame a strong start by the Congress to retain power for a third consecutive term in the heartland state. In Maharashtra voter list fraud was alleged after the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to perform like in the Lok Sabha election a few months earlier. The Election Commission had strongly refused all such claims. And now, as part of a renewed effort to counter such allegations, the poll panel will provide all BLOs with identity cards, sources said. This will allow them to go door-to-door for verification. Also, a campaign will be held to update the voter list, so people turning 18 can be added. This will also, sources said, eliminate the problem of duplicate voter ID numbers. The Election Commission is also prepared to deal with challenges posed by AI, sources said. 2020 Bihar Election The 2020 Bihar election was held in three phases; voting was on October 28, November 3, and November 7, with results announced on November 10. The result was an overwhelming victory for the BJP and Janata Dal (United)-led alliance, but there was much drama that followed. JDU boss and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lived up to his ' paltu Kumar' sobriquet in just two years later, in August 2022, declaring "I would rather die than go with the BJP (anymore)". He re-aligned with Tejashwi Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but then flipped again. Amid confusion and controversy, in January 2024 he dumped the RJD and returned to the BJP's side. The 2025 election will be keenly watched, as much for what Nitish Kumar does next as for the BJP building up steam ahead of a critical round of state polls next year, when Bengal and Assam will vote. Both polls will likely be dominated by fierce debates over issues like immigration. In 2026 Tamil Nadu and Kerala will also vote. Both states have historically rejected the BJP and its brand of muscular nationalism, with the former giving the DMK and Congress alliance big wins in the past three major polls - the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections.
India Gazette
23-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
ECI inaugurates two-day conference of CEOs to ensure correct and updated Electoral Rolls
New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): The Election Commission of India inaugurated a two-day conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi on Friday. The two-day programme, which was organised by Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, was followed by an interaction with the participants. The conference focused on leveraging technology to ensure correct and updated electoral rolls ahead of upcoming elections. The event brought together top officials from across the country to discuss strategies and innovations in election management. Earlier, on April 23, the Election Commission of India had organised a two-day training and capacity-building session for Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) and other field-level functionaries at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi. That was the third such batch of BLOs to be trained from the poll-bound state of Bihar. 229 Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), 12 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and two District Election Officers (DEOs) from the State are participating in the two-day training programme. A specialised one-day training programme for the State Police Nodal Officer (SPNO) and Police Officers from Bihar also commenced. ECI said that the training is planned to familiarise the BLOs with their roles and responsibilities as per the statutory framework and equip them to ensure error-free electoral rolls. They will also be trained in the IT applications designed to support their roles. This is the latest in the first phase of the ongoing physical training programmes at IIIDEM, in which 555 BLOs from the poll-bound states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam and 279 Booth Level Agents (BLA)--the first of 10 recognised national and state political parties from Bihar--have already been trained. 'These well-trained BLOs will form a corps of Assembly Level Master Trainers (ALMTs) to strengthen the entire network of BLOs nationwide,' ECI said. The poll body said the training of SPNOs and Police Officers from Bihar aims to improve coordination between election authorities and the police for enhanced electoral management, especially in the areas of law and order, vulnerability assessment, Paramilitary forces (CAPF) deployment, and model code of conduct (MCC) enforcement. ECI said that to date, over 3,000 participants from 141 countries, including large democracies such as Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Brazil, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Israel, Russia and South Africa, have benefited from training programmes from India's globally acclaimed election management practices at IIIDEM. (ANI)
