By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI:Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, in the presence of Election Commissioners, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, inaugurated the 2nd National Conference of Counsels representing the Election Commission of India, at IIIDEM, New Delhi, today. Aimed at further strengthening ECI’s legal framework and strategy, the Conference was attended by advocates representing the Commission before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts across the country, along with CEOs and senior officials of the Commission, participated in the conference.
Inaugurating the conference, the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, said, “Fair rolls lead to fair polls. That’s the moment today and India is in it.” He also hailed BLOs and BLAs as the foot soldiers of electoral roll management and congratulated the electors in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for their historic participation. He also highlighted the high level of contestation during these elections. He commended the counsels for their dedicated efforts in representing the Commission before courts across the country.
Speaking at the conference, EC Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said that the one-day conference would further strengthen coordination between the ECI and its legal representatives across the country. In his remarks, EC Dr. Vivek Joshi stated that the conference would provide an important forum for the exchange of experiences and deliberations on emerging legal challenges, enabling the formulation of effective legal strategies to further strengthen and uphold electoral integrity in a dynamic electoral environment.
The conference, centred on the theme “A Year of Legal Challenges, Experiences, Learnings and the Way Forward”, provides a vital platform for dialogue and exchange between the Commission and legal professionals from across the country.
As part of the conference, interactive sessions were held on key electoral processes, such as electoral roll management, Special Intensive Revision (SIR), polling and counting procedures, and EVM demonstrations. Experience-sharing sessions by advocates along with discussions on election laws, judicial proceedings, legal reforms, institutional coordination, the role of media narratives, and ECI’s technology-driven initiatives, including ECINET, offered a platform for examining emerging issues in the electoral and legal landscape.
Building on the outcomes of the National Conference of ECI Counsels held in 2025, the conference provides an opportunity to review progress made, exchange insights, and identify priorities for further strengthening the Commission’s legal framework.
