The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday said it has undertaken 28 initiatives in the past six months to streamline electoral processes and strengthen systems. Officials said that despite disruptions and deviations created by opposition parties, the Commission is continuing with its reform agenda.
The announcement comes at a time when the ECI is under opposition criticism over large-scale deletions in Bihar’s electoral rolls. The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions on the issue. The Commission, however, said its focus remains on the “purity of rolls” and no eligible voter will be left out.
According to the Commission, the new measures are grouped under stakeholder engagement, cleanup of systems, use of technology, roll purification, ease of voting, and capacity building.
As part of stakeholder engagement, officials said 4,719 all-party meetings have been conducted involving over 28,000 representatives. The Commission also held 20 meetings with presidents and senior leaders of political parties.
Under cleanup measures, 476 inactive registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) were identified for delisting, with 334 already removed. Identity cards have been issued to booth level officers (BLOs) to strengthen transparency, and new procedures drawn up for checking microcontrollers in five percent of electronic voting machines (EVMs) after results.
In Bihar, where the Special Intensive Revision is underway, the ECI said voter lists are being purified to remove ineligible names while ensuring no genuine voter is excluded. It has also begun linking death registration data with rolls to ensure timely deletions and has eliminated duplicate electoral photo identity card (EPIC) numbers nationwide.
On technology, the Commission has rolled out ECINET, a single digital platform combining over 40 apps and websites. It also mandated 100 percent webcasting at polling stations and real-time voter turnout updates every two hours. Voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips will now be counted in every case of mismatch with EVM data.
Other measures include capping voter strength at 1,200 per polling station, mobile deposit counters at polling booths, enhanced training for booth-level staff and agents, and higher remuneration for election personnel.
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