New Delhi, March 26: Election Commission India (ECI) conducted a training programme for all 294 Returning Officers (RO) for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, 2026 today at the Divisional Headquarters at Jalpaiguri, Malda, Presidency, Burdwan and Medinipur Divisions.
It may be recalled during the review visit of the Commission of West Bengal on March 9, 2026, Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, had underlined that the elections in West Bengal shall be conducted in a violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free manner so that every elector can vote without fear or favour.
In this regard, National Level Master Trainers along with senior officers from ECI addressed all phases of the conduct of elections including nomination process, scrutiny of nominations, qualifications and disqualifications, Model Code of Conduct (MCC), withdrawal of candidature, symbol allotment, poll-day arrangements and counting.
It was also emphasised during training that ROs ensure that the Presiding Officers (POs) share the signed copies of Form 17C, which contains the account of votes recorded all the polling agents present at the close of poll.
In the training programme, ROs were also briefed on the Presiding Officer module of ECINET. Through this module, the Presiding Officers will upload voter turnout data on the ECINET App on a two-hourly basis and at the close of polls. The data will be automatically compiled at the RO level so that near real time approximate voting trends are available.
This training programme is in addition to the training sessions being organized by the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal.
Election Commission designates or nominates ROs as per section 21 read with section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for every Constituency to ensure that the elections are conducted as per the law and the rules made thereunder. The ROs are subject to the control, superintendence and discipline of the Commission during the prescribed period.
