ECI plans brainstorming session for state poll officials on March 4, 5

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): Modern election management and enhancement of social media outreach will top the agenda at a two-day conference planned by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with the Chief Electoral Officers of all states/UTs on March 4 and 5, an official said on Monday. The event, scheduled to be held at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management in Delhi, will be the first big activity by the poll panel under new Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

In a first, the state CEOs have been instructed to nominate a DEO and an ERO to take part in the conference. As statutory authorities, CEOs, DEOs and EROs are important functionaries at the State, District and Assembly Constituency levels, said a statement. The two-day conference offers a platform for the election officials of the States/UTs for brainstorming and mutual learning from each other's experiences. Day 1 of the Conference will have discussions on key areas of modern election management, including IT architecture, effective communication, enhancing social media outreach and the statutory role of different functionaries in the electoral processes.

On the second day, CEOs of states/UTs will present their respective action plans on the thematic discussions of the previous day, said the statement. The Central government has recently appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the CEC, taking over from Rajiv Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre and is senior to the two other commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar.

He was appointed as Election Commissioner in March 2024. His predecessor, Rajiv Kumar's tenure spanning 4.5 years in the Commission was characterised by silent yet deep-rooted reforms across various domains spanning structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation and administration. Kumar during his tenure has completed one full electoral cycle with the conduct of elections in 31 states/UTs, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections 2022, Lok Sabha elections 2024 and Rajya Sabha renewals - a rare and monumental feat in electoral management.