ECI to hold meet of all state poll chiefs on February 24

NEW DELHI: Election Commission of India will hold a conference of all state election commissioners (SECs) here on Feb 24, to discuss issues which include the sharing of ECI electronic voting machines (EVMs), electoral rolls and technological innovations like ECINet for smoother conduct of panchayat and municipal polls by state election commissions.While ECI conducts Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and assembly elections, besides presidential and vice-presidential polls, the SECs, created by state laws based on the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, are tasked with holding elections to panchayats and municipal bodies in states.The SEC conference — being held after a gap of 25 years — has been convened by CEC Gyanesh Kumar after several state poll commissions approached him in the last one year, seeking national-level deliberations to iron out issues and coordinate efforts of EC and SECs on matters like eligibility of electors as per the electoral law, the borrowing of ECI EVMs for holding local polls.