EC changes toll-free helpline number to 1950

An ECI official said that helpline number has been changed to ‘1950’ because the Commission was constituted in year 1950 (on January 25). The official said that the previous number ‘1965’ had no such historical significance for the Election Commission.

The helpline number ‘1965’ was launched by ECI before the recently Assembly elections in West Bengal,Assam,Kerala,Puducherry and Tamil Nadu and call centres were set up in these states. To register a complaint,a person had to dial the helpline number with the STD code of the area.

The ECI had given directives to take action on all complaints within a time limit. Call centres had also to inform the complainants about the action taken. The calls were recorded and the callers telephone or mobile numbers were registered for acknowledgment.

“The ECI is also making certain modifications in its public grievance redressal system software to make the service more user friendly,” said Umesh Sinha,Chief Electoral Officer of UP.

According to officials,the ECI is likely to conduct a trial of the modified software with the new toll-free number in the first half of July. The modifications are being done according to suggestions received in recent meetings with election officers of West Bengal,Assam,Kerala,Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

“The new helpline number could start in UP by the end of July. We are starting it here much before the elections because we will also use it for receiving complaints regarding electoral rolls and electoral photo identity cards (EPIC),” Sinha said. Call centres will be set up in Lucknow and other districts.