The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized its fourth regional conference on "Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0) and ECINet" in Goa on September 3, 2026, focusing on strengthening electoral literacy and democratic awareness among young citizens. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressed the gathering, emphasizing that students are the future of India and that Electoral Literacy Clubs across India will help strengthen the world's largest democracy.
CEC Kumar stated that ELCs are important platforms for students to understand electoral processes and democratic values, and highlighted that elections in India are conducted strictly as per the Constitution of India, law, and ECI instructions, with transparency maintained through concurrent audit by recognized political parties, candidates, or their representatives at all stages. He also emphasized ECINet as the vehicle of transparency for electors across the country, providing a unified digital platform for election-related services and information.
ELC 2.0, with the tagline "Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy," reimagines Electoral Literacy Clubs as structured, visible, and digitally enabled platforms across schools, colleges, and universities. The initiative aims to encourage young and first-time voters to understand and meaningfully participate in democracy by leveraging the extensive ECINet digital platform, which provides all election-related services from roll to poll. The program will drive continuous, year-round electoral literacy activities through a dedicated ELC portal, building a streamlined pan-India network of ELCs.
The initiative targets India's extensive educational ecosystem, which comprises approximately 15 lakh schools with nearly 25 crore students and over one crore teachers, plus a higher education sector with nearly 1,500 universities and around 70,000 educational institutions, with an estimated enrolment of 4.33 crore students. Through this institutional network, ELC 2.0 seeks to promote factual and experiential electoral education, enhance awareness of India's electoral system, and encourage young citizens to become ambassadors of informed democratic participation. The ELCs will also disseminate information on electoral registration, polling, counting, ECINet App, and other key ECI initiatives.
CEC Kumar's two-day visit to Goa included interactions with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and ELC members from across the state. During an interactive session with over 1,000 BLOs, he commended their dedicated service and contribution to the smooth conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Rolls in the state. The conference also featured a Question-and-Answer session between students and the CEC.