Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj chaired a meeting with political parties on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the BJP, TDP, Congress, the CPM and AIMIM.
During the meeting, the CEO appraised political leaders about the ECI’s efforts to liberalise enrolment dates for youngsters in the age group of 17 to 18 years to expand the voter base.
He also highlighted the state of polling stations, ensuring minimum facilities like ramps, drinking water, furniture, lighting, help desks, signage, and toilets. The CEO said that as per the ECI’s directions, officers will focus on providing permanent facilities at all polling stations.
The CEO also informed the parties about the various activities undertaken by the EROs, including conducting 406 meetings, displaying forms 8, 9, 10, and 11 on notice boards and the importance of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in ensuring fair elections.
The CEO pointed out that the number of BLAs was not sufficient, as there were only 1785 BLAs for 34,891 polling stations. He requested political leaders to increase the number of BLAs.
The CEO said that he has also issued instructions to EROs on safeguards against deletions, including photo similar entries, and highlighted the need for vigilance against logical errors detected at the data entry level.
The ECI reported that there were currently 4 lakh pending forms including forms 6, 7 and 8.
The CEO also highlighted the ECI’s special initiative to promote voter participation among transgenders and other marginalised sections like tribals.
The CEO appreciated the constructive discussion with political parties and expressed the hope for continued collaboration to promote free, fair elections in the country.
The political parties requested more details on the initiatives of the ECI and also a workshop with them to make them aware of their responsibilities keeping in view the latest instructions and the upcoming general elections.
