Mumbai: In a first in the country, Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district has developed a certificate training programme for officials conducting polls in Jalgaon and Raver Lok Sabha constituencies. Under this programme, the election personnel are being provided training in seven stages for conducting “free and fair” polls. After completion of the programme, they will be provided certificates. Jalgaon District Collector and District Election Officer (DEO) Ayush Prasad said the programme will ensure error-free election and no repoll.
Jalgaon and Raver Lok Sabha constituencies in Jalgaon district will go to the polls on May 13 in the fourth phase of the election. Around 39 Lakh voters will exercise their franchise in both the constituencies. More than 20 thousand personnel are being provided training to conduct the election in both the constituencies.
The personnel roped in for the polls are being asked to undertake this programme, which is based on the guidelines and materials given by the Election Commission of India (ECI). “We are giving them lectures, tutorials and clearing their doubts. They are asked to do demonstrations of all activities before going to actual duty on the poll day. Besides this, we also conduct a group mock drills, in which they are being given hypothetical situations to enhance their operational skills and readiness for real situations,” Mr. Prasad said.
Following this, viva of these personnel will be conducted by a panel, which assesses their understanding and readiness.
Mr. Prasad said that they will also conduct a written exam of the personnel to evaluate their comprehension of training materials. “Those who score above 70 percent marks will be provided a certificate, which recognizes them as proficient election officials of Jalgaon district for election duty,” he said.
Additional collector of Jalgaon district and Returning Officer (RO) of Raver Lok Sabha constituency Ankush Pinate said that 19,500 personnel will be deployed in both constituencies. “Those personnel, who are unable to pass the exam, will immediately undergo a second round of training,” he said.
