NEW DELHI

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office on Wednesday conducted a training programme for election officials and representatives of six recognised national political parties ahead of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls scheduled later this month.

The training, organised at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in Dwarka, was conducted in collaboration with technical experts from the Election Commission of India (EC). The first session was attended by Sub-Divisional Magistrates (Elections), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Fair Shop Officers notified as AEROs, Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) Supervisors from all 13 districts, and second session by the booth level agents (BLAs) representing recognised political parties.

During the first session, EC experts explained the functioning of various ECINet IT modules used by EROs and BLOs. The roles and responsibilities of EROs and BLOs during the revision exercise were also discussed, while officials addressed queries raised by participants.

According to election officials, 29,758 BLAs had been appointed by the six national parties across Delhi till May 26.

187 BLA-1s who are appointed at the Assembly Constituency level attended the session, while BLA-2s are appointed for individual polling stations. 

During the session, officials underlined the role of political parties in ensuring a “healthy and error-free” electoral roll and said regular interactions would be held with BLAs at constituency and booth levels throughout the revision process.

Each BLA is allowed to file up to 50 forms per day before publication of the draft electoral roll and 10 forms per day thereafter. The forms can include requests for addition, correction and deletion of voter entries, with reasons required for deletion requests.

Officials said Delhi has over 1.46 crore registered voters across 13,033 polling stations. As part of preparations for the revision, polling stations are being rationalised by reducing the voter cap per booth from 1,500 to 1,200.

A month-long house-to-house enumeration drive will begin on June 30 after a 10-day training and logistical preparation period. During the exercise, BLOs, including government school teachers, ASHA workers and anganwadi workers, will visit households to verify voter details and distribute and collect enumeration forms.

The draft electoral roll will be published on August 5. Claims and objections can be filed until September 4, while verification and hearings will continue till October 3. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 7.