NEW DELHI: ECI has started holding all-party meetings across the country by engaging more than 4000 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to sort out pending polling booth–level issues in their respective assembly constituencies.
The move has reportedly been taken to clear the pendency of complaints of booth-level issues ahead of polls in many states.
An official source from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 22 said that as many as 4,123 EROs have started holding all-party meetings to resolve any pending polling booth-level issues in their respective Assembly Constituencies (ACs).
The meetings will continue till March 31 to sort out every pending issue related to booth-level and others on a priority basis with the participation of all parties’ representations and their suggestions.
According to ECI’s statement, all 788 District Election Officers (DEOs) and 36 CEOs of all 28 States and 8 UTs at the State and UT levels have also been directed to hold meetings to resolve any pending issues at the district and State and UT levels respectively.
“The 36 CEOs and 788 DEOS have strictly been directed by the commission to resolve the pending issues by holding all-party meetings at state and UTs levels within the legal framework of the RP Act 1950 and 1951, the Registration of Elector Rules 1960, the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 and the manuals, guidelines and instructions issued by ECI from time to time”, said an official statement.
The ECI further said that the all –party meetings have already started with the active participation of national/ and state level political parties across the country.
“And, all such meetings are to be completed in the entire country in each AC, district and State/UT by March 31, 2025”, the ECI has added through a statement.
It has also been stated that the decision to take such move was taken in line with the directions of the Commission, led by CEC Gyanesh Kumar along with ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi during the conference of CEOs of all States/UTs and one DEO and ERO from each state, held on March 4, 2025, in New Delhi.
Furthermore, the ECI has also stated that the political parties and their authorized representatives such as Booth Level Agents (BLAs), Polling Agents, Counting Agents and Election Agents have specific roles to play in various electoral processes including the conduct of elections.
“This grassroots-level engagement has been welcomed by political parties, with their active and enthusiastic participation in meetings across assembly constituencies, districts, and states/UTs”, the ECI has also claimed.
The Commission has also appealed to all the national and state political parties to avail proactive grassroots-level engagement with electoral authorities for resolving any pending issue in a time-bound manner.