The Election Commission today commenced the first-ever training programme for over one lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi, inaugurated a training programme held at India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM) in the National Capital.

Over one hundred BLOs from Bihar, West Bengal and Assam are participating in the two-day residential training programme along with 24 Electoral Registration Officers and 13 District Election Officers from Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

Talking to the media, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that India’s election is the biggest in the world, and to conduct this election, the Election Commission makes 10 lakh fifty thousand booths. He said over one lakh BLOs will be trained in the training programmes.

The Commission, in its statement, said that over one lakh BLOs, with an average of one BLO per 10 polling stations, will be trained in such training programmes over the next few years. It added that these well-trained BLOs will form a corps of Assembly Level Master Trainers (ALMTs) to strengthen the entire network of BLOs nationwide. The poll body said that these BLOs are the first and most important interface between the 100 Crore electors and the Commission.

The Commission stated that this unique capacity-building program will continue in phases focussing first on poll-bound states. It further said that the training is planned to familiarise the BLOs with their roles and responsibilities.