Master Trainer Slide Deck — EVM

Rajasthan ULB General Election 2026 · Model: ECIL MPSV

How to use: --- separates slides. Speaker notes in italics — do not project them. Duration: full session ≈ 150 minutes including hands-on practice. Cascade: State Master Trainer → District Master Trainer → polling parties. Training is conducted at municipality level [2184 ¶6(vi)].

🚨 Rule for the trainer: if a point is not on the slide with a source, do not say it. If asked, open GAPS, show it, and say “this will be obtained from the Commission in writing.” Answering from assumption would be the worst failure of this training.

🔗 Every citation tag is clickable in CITATIONS — it opens the source PDF at the exact page.

✅ Updated 21.08.2026 — brought in line with the Margdarsika 2026

This deck had fallen behind the handbooks. Four things have now been added that were not here before —

#	What was added	Where
1	🚨 Mock poll: at least one vote for every candidate INCLUDING NOTA — mandatory	Slide 12
2	Allocation of duties among Polling Officers 1/2/3 — PO-3 presses BALLOT	Slide 14-A
3	Arrive 75 minutes before the poll starts	Slide 9-A
4	The official Check Memo (Annexure-15)	Slide 9-A

🟡 Be clear about one thing — this is not a case of "the old position was wrong". The older decks named the Presiding Officer as the one who presses BALLOT. That is not unlawful — rule 37-A(2) itself permits "the Presiding Officer or the polling officer in charge of the Control Unit", both. The Margdarsika 2026 allocates the duty to PO-3. In class say — "this is now the Third Polling Officer's job", not "what you were taught before was wrong".

---

Slide 1 — Title

EVM Training

ULB General Election 2026

State Election Commission, Rajasthan

Poll: 09 and 11 September 2026 · Counting: 14 September 2026

Speaker note: the Model Code of Conduct has been in force since 19.08.2026. Time is very short — treat this session seriously.

---

Slide 2 — Today's session

1. Why EVMs, and under what authority
2. Know the machine — CU, BU, SDMM
3. The full journey of an EVM (FLC → counting)
4. Poll day — the Presiding Officer's complete procedure
5. Close of poll and sealing
6. Error messages and solutions
7. Hands-on practice
8. Assessment

---

Slide 3 — Legal basis

SO 149/2026 (order 635, 19.01.2026) — all wards of all Municipal Boards / Councils / Corporations to poll by EVM.

Speaker note: it supersedes earlier order 3913 dated 12.09.2014 (SO 94/2014).

---

Slide 4 — 🚨 Three things that differ from generic EVM training

1️⃣ EVMs are used here for the MEMBER (ward) post only

2️⃣ The END button will be MASKED — no possibility of partial voting [2184 ¶9(xxi)]

3️⃣ The Pink Paper Seal is applied on three different occasions — do not confuse them

Speaker note: point 2 is the most important. The general ECIL manual says to leave the last BU's END button un-masked — that does not apply in this election. The Commission's instruction prevails. If an experienced trainer argues from the manual, show them paragraph 9(xxi) of circular 2184.

---

Slide 5 — The three Pink Paper Seals

All seals are printed by Nashik Security Press and are serially numbered.

Speaker note: only the third is the Presiding Officer's responsibility. The first two will already be in place — the duty is to keep them intact.

---

Slide 6 — Know the machine

• MPSV machines are pink; carrying cases are pink too
• No scope for an invalid vote
• Braille signage for the visually impaired

---

Slide 7 — Three models will be in use

⚠️ Today's training is on MPSV. The MPMV and MK-V/M3A manuals are not available.

Speaker note: this is GAPS §2. Train the polling party on the model it will actually receive. If the district is getting MPMV or BEL machines, the manual must be obtained from the Commission — do not deliver that training from this deck.

---

Slide 8 — Lamps and sounds

🚫 Do not switch the CU off while the beep is sounding

---

Slide 9 — The journey of an EVM at a glance

Storage → FLC → ┬→ Training machines (5%, pink round sticker, NOT for the poll)
                └→ Municipality-wise allotment → Ward-wise allotment → Commissioning
                   → Distribution → Poll day → Strong room → Counting → 30 days → Clear

Speaker note: the detailed chart is Chart A in the checklists file — hand participants a copy.

---

Slide 9-A — 🚨 Start of poll day — 75 minutes and the Check Memo

The party must reach the polling station 75 minutes before the appointed hour of the poll

Source: Annexure-14 (outline of duties) — "75 minutes"

ℹ️ Chapter 14 of the Margdarsika says "at least one hour". This is not a conflict — "at least" sets a minimum, and Annexure-14 fixes a longer period (75 minutes). Teach 75 minutes.

The official Check Memo — Annexure-15

Speaker note: every Presiding Officer should carry the Check Memo laminated. The full form is in EVM — Checklists, Flowcharts and the Official Check Memo §1 — hand out copies.

---

Slide 10 — Poll day: step one — checks

In the presence of candidates / polling agents

Ballot Unit: ballot paper properly fixed under the screen? · both seals on the right, top and bottom, in position? Control Unit: RO's seal on the left of the Candidate Section in position? → open the rear compartment → connect the BU → open the Result Section cover and the inner door (do not force it) → power ON (beep + green lamp) → close the rear compartment

---

Slide 11 — Poll day: step two — CLEAR (proving zero)

Press CLEAR → about 25 seconds, with beep

Display: DELETING POLLED VOTES → CANDIDATE-1 VOTES-0 … → TOTAL VOTERS 0 → END

Purpose: to show the agents that no votes are already recorded in the machine

❓ If Invalid operation appears → repeat CRC (Close → Result-1 → Clear)

Speaker note: CLEAR works only when BU-1 is connected and the SDMM is fitted [MPSV Ch.3].

---

Slide 12 — Poll day: step three — mock poll

🚨 This first — the Margdarsika 2026 makes it mandatory

"The mock poll must be conducted with a minimum of one vote each for every candidate, including NOTA." [MG ch.4, printed p.20 — MPSV · MG ch.4-A, printed p.32 — M3A/MK-5]

Steps:

1. 🚨 The Third Polling Officer (PO-3) presses BALLOT → CU red Busy, BU green lamp
2. Have an agent vote → arrow lamp red + beep
3. Repeat — write the manual tally · 🚨 every candidate and NOTA — at least one vote each
4. TOTAL to reconcile (only when Busy is off)
5. CLOSE → POLL CLOSED
6. RESULT-I → note the result
7. Machine result = manual tally?

🚨 The mock poll account and certificate — also mandatory [MG ch.4-A(4),(7),(13)]

Speaker note: 🔴 the earlier version of this deck said here — "the number of votes per candidate need not be equal". That sentence is true and remains true — but it was incomplete. The ECIL manual (2019) said only that much. The minimum-one-vote-each requirement comes from the Margdarsika 2026 and that is what applies. Say both together: the numbers may be unequal — but nobody stays on zero, NOTA included. This is the single most-missed point.

---

Slide 13 — 🚨 Two warnings that can wreck the poll

1. Do not forget to CLEAR the mock poll votes

2. Do not forget to switch the CU OFF before sealing the Result Section

Speaker note: stop here for two minutes. Have the whole room repeat both. Both are printed under a separate “WARNING” heading in the ECIL manual — that alone shows their weight. If the mock votes are not erased, they will be added to the actual poll votes.

---

Slide 14 — Poll day: step four — sealing

Pink Paper Seal → inner compartment of the Result Section - White surface to the back, pink surface out through the hole - PRO's full signature below the serial number + agents' signatures - Note the serial number, and have the agents note it - Twine (two holes on the left) → knot → special tag → PRO's seal - Place the special tag so the CLOSE button stays easily available

Then: seal the Result Section outer cover → ABCD strip seal (steps 1–5)

---

Slide 14-A — 🚨 Polling Officers 1 / 2 / 3 — who does what [MG ch.2]

PO-3's three rules of discipline

1. Admission strictly in the order the slips were issued — if the order breaks, a remark in column (4) of the register

2. One voter at a time — no Ballot until the previous voter has come out

3. Reconcile with Total at intervals (only when Busy is off) — Annexure-7, point 19

🚨 At small polling stations the Presiding Officer may himself do PO-3's work — in that case two polling officers besides the PRO are sufficient [MG ch.2(3)9]

🟡 Keep the legal position straight: rule 37-A(2) — "the Presiding Officer or the polling officer in charge of the Control Unit" — both are lawful. The Margdarsika 2026 allocates it to PO-3. The Margdarsika's own voter slip also reads "the Presiding Officer or as the case may be the Third Polling Officer" [MG ch.3(8), ch.9(3)1]. The old deck was not wrong — it just was not the 2026 allocation.

Speaker note: 🚨 the voter never touches the Control Unit. The CU stays on the Presiding Officer's table, in full view of the agents [rule 32-B(6)]. One DLMT slide (PP2_p018) says "the voter will press BALLOT" — that is an error; see DLMT Training Material — Correction Sheet, Item 1.

---

Slide 15 — Poll day: step five — the actual poll

1. BU in the voting compartment — sufficient distance from the table (cable 5 m) voters must not walk on the cable; tie it to the table leg
2. CU ON
3. 🚨 TOTAL → Total Voters ZERO
4. Start the poll at the appointed time

For every voter — which officer, in what order:

PO-1   identification (particulars read out aloud)
  |
PO-2   register entry + signature/thumb impression -> indelible ink on left index finger -> voter slip
  |
PO-3   takes the slip · checks the ink mark · presses BALLOT
  |
VOTER  goes into the voting compartment and votes on the Ballot Unit

🚨 The voter goes only as far as the Ballot Unit — never touches the Control Unit.

⚠️ Check with TOTAL after the first/second voter

---

Slide 16 — During the poll: three rules of discipline

1. One voter in the compartment at a time

2. Voters go in register order

3. BALLOT only after the previous voter has come out

Keep reconciling register vs machine count at intervals

🚫 Do not open the CLOSE cap unnecessarily · do not switch the CU off during the beep

---

Slide 17 — If a voter cannot vote

Remember the sequence — six steps [MPSV Ch.7(ii)]

1. Remove the BU cable to create  LINK ERROR
2. Switch the CU off
3. Reconnect the BU cable
4. Switch the CU on
5. Press  BALLOT  after all messages finish
6. The voter votes again

Speaker note: practise this in the hands-on session. Under pressure the order gets reversed.

---

Slide 18 — Close of poll

First let every voter standing in the queue vote

---

Slide 19 — What goes on the address tag

Candidates / polling agents are permitted to sign the address tags [SO 145 ¶7]

---

Slide 20 — Error messages (the common ones)

Speaker note: the full table (13 entries) is in §7 of the Presiding Officer handbook.

---

Slide 21 — Hands-on practice (60 minutes)

Every participant must do this themselves — watching is not enough:

1. Connect and disconnect BU–CU (TOP marking, red/black strip)
2. CLEAR → show zero
3. Mock poll → TOTAL → CLOSE → RESULT-I → reconcile → CLEAR → OFF
4. Pink Paper Seal + twine + special tag + ABCD strip, 5 steps
5. Create a LINK ERROR and do the six-step recovery
6. Induce PRESSED ERROR and resolve it
7. The seven-step close-of-poll sequence + filling in the address tag

Speaker note: training machines carry a pink round sticker. They will not be used in the poll. They must be collected the same day and signed for [2184 ¶6(v)].

---

Slide 22 — Seven fatal lapses

---

Slide 23 — What we are not teaching today

Now available in this module — these used to be on the "not teaching" list:

⚠️ English parity note: modules 07–10 exist in Hindi only at present. Where the table above points at a Hindi file, the English equivalent has not been written yet — say so rather than improvising an English answer.

Still genuine gaps — do not answer these from assumption:

• ❌ MPMV and BEL MK-V / M3A — instruction manuals not available; do not deliver that training from this deck
• ❌ Order 652 dated 20.01.2026 — could not be retrieved from the Commission's site; obtain it from the DEO
• ❌ Schedules I–VIII (chairperson / vice-chairperson forms) — the form pages are unread

🚨 If asked about these, do not answer from assumption — say “it will be obtained from the Commission in writing.”

Speaker note: do not delete this slide. The trainer's credibility rests on it. Keep GAPS with you.

---

Slide 24 — Assessment and close

• Question paper — Part A (all) · Part B (PRO) · Part C (RO) · Part D (scenario)
• Suggested pass mark: 80%
• A repeat practice session is compulsory for anyone who fails

Take away with you

✅ Your role's handbook ✅ Checklists (laminated) ✅ Error message table

“A single mistake can affect the whole election.”