Left to right: Prof Ashwani Kumar - Dean and Project Leader, SDS, Shri Dharmendra Sharma (IAS) - Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI and Director IIIDEM, Prof Bino Paul - Pro VC, TISS, Shri Nitesh Kumar Vyas (IAS) - Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI, Shri Srikant Deshpande (IAS) - Additional Chief Secretary and Chief Election Commissioner, Maharasthra and Prof Sanjay Kumar - Co-Director, Lokniti-(CSDS)

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Symposium on Elections in India was organised by the  Centre for Electoral Management Studies (C-EMS), School of Development Studies (SDS), as they welcomed the first batch of the Master’s in Electoral Management and Practices (MIEMP) program for their on campus classes in Mumbai. The MIEMP program is a joint initiative of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Election Commission of India (ECI) and the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). MIEMP participants include ECI officials, international participants from election commissions of their respective countries and the open pool candidates from India. 

The symposium captured the role ECI plays in the conduct of free and fair elections in the largest democracy and how inclusivity is endured in the processes. Pertinent themes like election financing, human resources and significance of research in election were highlighted and discussed in the symposium.

Senior Deputy Election Commissioners of Election Commission of India(ECI)  inaugurated the On-Campus Semester of the first  batch of MA in International Electoral Management & Practices(MIEMP) at Centre for Electoral Management Studies (C-EMS) , School of Development Studies (SDS), Tata Institute of Institute of Social Sciences,(TISS), Mumbai

 

Shri Dharmendra Sharma (IAS)- Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI and Director IIIDEM, Shri Nitesh Vyas (IAS) , Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI.

Prof Bino Paul, Pro-Vice Chancellor gave the welcome address & reflected on institutional history of TISS.

 

Prof Ashwani Kumar , Dean, School of Development Studies & Project Director of ECI-IIIDEM-TISS MA programme felicitated the guests.

Shri Dharmendra Sharma (IAS), Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI & Director General, IIIDEM delivered the key note address outlining the vision of ECI-IIIDEM-TISS collaboration in curating electoral management studies as a genre in social sciences and innovation for capacity building of electoral officials nationally & internationally.

Shri Nitesh Kumar Vyas (IAS),  Senior Deputy Election Commissioner  presented  a talk on ECI’s success in conducting elections & managing world’s largest human resource exercise in governance. 

Mr Shrikant Deshpande(IAS), Additional Chief Secretary & Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra  Reflected on excellence and inclusivity in elections in India.

Prof  Gopinath, chairperson , Centre of Electoral Management Studies Outlined the vision of electoral management studies and its significance for New Education Policy(NEP)

Guest of honor, Prof Sanjay Kumar, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies deliberated on relevance of electoral management studies.

Attendees at the Symposium : ECI Officials, Participants in MIEMP, and Faculty and Students.