ECI Organises first All India Media Conference

📌 Summary:

• ECI held its first-ever All India Media Conference 2026 with 380+ media professionals from States/UTs, themed "Connecting stakeholders, strengthening democracy: Role of media in elections"
• CEC Gyanesh Kumar stressed elections are conducted per the Constitution, Representation of the People Acts 1950 & 1951, and ECI instructions, with the entire process "concurrently audited" by stakeholders
• India's Electoral Roll described as a "living document" with nearly 95 crore electors; 12 lakh+ Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 15 lakh+ Booth Level Agents (BLAs) act as concurrent auditors
• Participants briefed on the ECINET platform, role of technology, constitutional/legal provisions on media during elections, and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of rolls
• Live demonstrations of Electoral Roll preparation, polling and counting processes were conducted; highest-ever poll participation cited as proof of trust in the system

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — Election Commission of India, electoral transparency, and the role of media as a democratic stakeholder.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• ECI is a constitutional body under Article 324
• RP Act 1950 deals with electoral rolls; RP Act 1951 with conduct of elections
• ECINET is ECI's integrated digital platform
• Electoral roll size: ~95 crore electors; SIR = Special Intensive Revision

🔑 Key Term: Concurrent Audit — continuous verification of the electoral process by BLOs, BLAs, polling and counting agents at every stage.