Over the past six months, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken 28 significant initiatives aimed at streamlining and improving the electoral process.

1. Engagement with all Stakeholders

 

1.  EROs, DEOs and CEOs have held all-party meetings nationwide – a total of 4,719 all-party meetings were conducted including 40 meetings by CEOs, 800 by DEOs, and 3879 by EROs engaging over 28,000 representatives of various political parties.
2.  ECI Meetings with Party Leadership – The Commission is regularly interacting with Presidents and senior leaders of National and State parties. 20 such meetings held so far.

 

2. Strengthening & cleanup of Electoral Systems

 

3. Delisting of inactive Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) – 476 more RUPPs identified for delisting; 334 already removed in the first round.
4. Identification and mapping of roles for 28 Stakeholders – roles have been mapped in line with the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act of 1950 and 1951, Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Conduct of election rules 1961, and various instructions and guidelines issued by the Commission from time to time.
5. Photo ID Cards for BLOs – Standard Identity Cards issued to BLOs to enhance field-level transparency and public trust.
6. Checking and Verification of EVM microcontrollers – Technical and Administrative SOP issued for checking and verification of burnt memory/ microcontroller in 5% of EVMs after declaration of results.
7. National Conference with Legal Counsels & CEOs – to strengthen and reorient its legal framework and reinforce the effectiveness of its legal representation across various judicial forums.
8. Bilateral Meetings with Heads of Election Management Bodies – CEC Gyanesh Kumar held a series of bilateral meetings at the IDEA Stockholm Conference held in June 2025, with the Heads of various Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to further strengthen India’s longstanding partnerships in election management and democratic cooperation.

 

3. Enhancing use of Technology

 

9. One-stop Digital Platform – ECINET – A single portal subsuming 40+ apps/websites for the electors and its other stakeholders including the voters, election officials and political parties.
10. 100% Webcasting at Polling Stations –monitoring to ensure that critical activities take place smoothly without any violation of the poll process.
11. Real-time Voter Turnout Updates – Presiding Officers to now upload turnout data on ECINET App every two hours on polling day in order to reduce the time lag in the updation of the approximate polling trends.
12. Digital Index Cards & Reports – technology-driven system to promote accessibility of election-related data at the constituency level for all stakeholders.
13. Mandatory VVPAT Count for mismatches – VVPAT slip counting in each and every case of mismatch between Form 17C and EVM data and wherever mock poll data was not erased erroneously.

 

4. Purity of Electoral Rolls

 

14. Special Intensive Revision in Bihar – purification of Electoral Roll in Bihar to ensure no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible names remain.
15. Special Summary Revision before By-elections – Electoral Rolls revised ahead of the recently concluded bye-polls in 4 states for the first time in nearly two decades.
16. Linking Death Registration Data – to ensure 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.
17. Unique EPIC Numbers – Same EPIC numbers for different persons eliminated across the country.
18. Faster EPIC Delivery – new SOP issued enabling the delivery of EPICs within 15 days of an update in the electoral rolls, including new enrolment of an elector or change in any particulars of an existing elector. Electors will also receive notifications via SMS at each stage

 

5. Ease of Voting

 

19. Mobile Deposit Facility at Polling Stations – Counters introduced just outside polling stations for depositing mobile phones by voters.
20. Polling Station Limit of 1,200 Voters – Ensures reduced crowding, shorter queues, and additional booths in high-rise residential complexes and societies.
21. Clearer Voter Information Slip (VIS) – Serial and part numbers displayed prominently for easier verification of voters.
22. Candidate Booths allowed just outside 100 meters of PS – booths set up by the candidates on poll day for issuing unofficial identity slips to electors, in case the electors are not carrying their official Voter Information Slips (VIS) issued by the Commission, can be set up just beyond 100 meters of any polling station.

 

6. Capacity building

 

23. Expanded Training at IIIDEM – Over 7,000 BLOs and supervisors trained at IIIDEM, New Delhi.
24. Enhanced Remuneration for Officials – Remuneration doubled for BLOs, enhanced for BLO Supervisors and for polling/counting staff, CAPF, monitoring teams and micro-observers. Honorarium provided for EROs and AEROs for the first time. Provision for refreshments also enhanced.
25. Training Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by Political Parties – BLAs from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry were trained in various aspects of supporting the process of preparing electoral rolls including the use of appeals provision under RP Act 1950.
26. Training for Media & Communication Officers – Orientation of state-level officers to improve election-related public communication.
27. Training Police Officers – Special sessions conducted for Bihar police to reinforce law-and-order preparedness during elections.
28. Strengthening Internal Systems – Biometric attendance, e-Office migration, and relocation to IIIDEM for efficiency and better utilisation of resources.

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PK/GDH/RP

(Release ID: 2157924)