New Delhi: As the Election Commission (EC) readies to hold high-stakes Assembly polls in five states, its senior officers, led by deputy election commissioners, have started taking stock of preparations there, with a poll authority team currently on a visit to Uttarakhand. Commission officers will visit Manipur and Punjab in the coming days, senior functionaries said. While a field visit to Goa was also on the agenda, the tour dates are being reworked now. There is no word yet on the officers’ visit to Uttar Pradesh, which elects 403 MLAs.
Usually, the “full Commission” comprising the chief election commissioner and fellow commissioners visits poll-bound states in the end ahead of the announcement of election schedule. While the term of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly ends May 22 next year, the terms of 60-member Manipur, 40-member Goa, 117-member Punjab and 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly end on different dates in March, 2027. Provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 allow the EC to hold polls “earlier than six months before the term expires”.
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