Hoshiarpur, June 20: Under the directions of the Election Commission of India, an important meeting was held today with the representatives of the recognized political parties of the district under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Ashika Jain at the District Administrative Complex. The main objective of this meeting was to ensure transparency in the preparation and revision process of voter lists.
In the meeting, Ashika Jain informed that the Election Commission has provided the facility to all political parties to appoint Booth Level Agent (BLA) for every polling station. During the meeting, the detailed procedure related to the appointment of booth level agents was also shared. She was told that a BLA can be appointed for each polling station or part of the voter list, who should be a registered voter of that area. The tenure of the agent will remain valid until his appointment is cancelled or he ceases to be a voter of that area.
The Deputy Commissioner clarified that no person employed in government, semi-government or public sector undertakings can become a BLA. The BLA has to prepare the list of deceased or transferred voters in coordination with the BLO and submit it in the relevant format. He said that the BLA will have to be present compulsorily in special camps, where the BLO will register claims and objections with their help.
Aashika Jain said that if a political party does not appoint a BLA, then it cannot even submit mass forms during voter list revision. Therefore, all parties are requested to immediately appoint a BLA and send the report to the District Election Office and the concerned Electoral Registration Officer.
He said that the role of political parties is important in making the voter list pure and transparent. On this occasion, Tehsildar (Election) Sarbjit Singh, Kanungo Deepak Kumar, Rajneesh Tandon from Indian National Congress were also present.