Election Commission Gears Up For Pan-India Voter List Overhaul, Asks CEOs To Train BLOs: Report

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday (23 October) directed all chief electoral officers (CEOs), especially those from states and Union Territories scheduled for assembly polls next year, to begin training booth-level officers (BLOs) and engage political parties to appoint booth-level agents (BLAs) ahead of the upcoming nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Times of India reported.

The instructions were issued on the final day of the two-day CEOs’ conference, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in attendance.

The EC also held one-on-one meetings with the CEOs of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry, the five poll-bound states/UTs, to discuss specific challenges.

The SIR process, expected to commence soon, is anticipated to last approximately three months and conclude with the publication of final rolls by late January or early February.

The EC is expected to finalise and announce the pan-India SIR schedule within the next few days.

A senior EC official explained the importance of the preparatory exercise, saying, “BLOs are a crucial link in the implementation of SIR.”

The officer added that the BLOs’ training would include guidance on distributing enumeration forms, assisting electors in completing them either physically or online, and ensuring the mandatory three home visits to verify voter details.

The EC has also asked CEOs to involve political parties fully in the SIR process.

They have been instructed to encourage parties to appoint BLAs who may also undergo training on SIR procedures.

The CEOs were reportedly informed that electors can be easily mapped to the 2003–04 rolls of any state or UT, as all voter rolls are now digitised and integrated across the country.

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