ECI holds all-party meetings to resolve booth-level polling issues

Days after informing the Supreme Court that it is willing to hold deliberations over the demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday kicked off grassroots-level meetings with political parties to resolve pending polling booth level issues in their respective assembly seats.

 

"4,123 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across the country are holding all-party meetings to resolve any pending polling booth level issues in their respective Assembly Constituencies (ACs)," ECI said in a statement. Similarly, all 788 District Election Officers (DEOs) and 36 CEOs of all 28 States and 8 Union Territories have also been directed to hold such meetings to resolve any pending issues at the district and State/UT levels respectively. The discussions are held within the legal framework of the Representation of Peoples Act 1950 & 1951, Registration of Elector Rules 1960 and Conduct of Election Rules 1961. 

 

 

These meetings have already started with the active participation of national/state level political parties, the ECI said in its statement. The commission has set the deadline of 31st of March, 2025 for the discussions to be completed in the entire country in each AC, district and State/UT.

 

Grassroot level engagement

 

The statement added that the ongoing discussions are in line with the directions of the Commission led by CEC Gyanesh Kumar along with ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi during the conference of CEOs of all states on March 4, 2025. Political parties and their authorised representatives such as Booth Level Agents (BLAs), polling agents, counting agents and election agents have specific roles to play in various electoral processes including the conduct of elections.

 

ECI said that this grassroots-level engagement has been welcomed by political parties, with their active and enthusiastic participation in meetings. The Commission also appealed to all the political parties to avail this opportunity to resolve any pending issues in a time-bound manner. 

 

Ongoing reforms

 

The ECI's discussions come at a time when many political parties have been demanding more reforms in the electoral process to strengthen the process of exercising one's franchise. Political parties such as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have targeted the ECI over the possibility of duplication of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers. Replying to it, ECI has said that it will 'fix the issue' in just three months.

 

Two days ago, the ECI said that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close coordination with the births and deaths registration authorities.

 

The Election Commission also met with the Union home secretary, legislative secretary (in the law ministry), MeitY secretary and the UIDAI CEO on the issue of voter card-Aadhaar seeding. It said that the linkage of voter cards with Aadhaar would be done according to the prevailing law and the Supreme Court's directions and added technical consultations between UIDAI and its experts for the exercise would "begin soon".

 

Earlier on March 18, the SC noted the ECI submission that it was willing to deliberate on demands for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website and asked the petitioners to make representations before the poll panel in 10 days.

 

"Here is a new chief election commissioner now. The petitioners can meet him and it may be addressed,” senior advocate Maninder Singh appearing for the ECI had said.

 

Upcoming elections

 

The ongoing grassroots level discussions of ECI has come ahead of the Assembly elections of Bihar, which are scheduled to happen in November this year. Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are the other states which will go to polls in the next year.