Team Herald
PANJIM: The full bench of Election Commission of India comprising the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra has arrived in State to take stock of the elections preparedness ahead of the State Assembly elections, due in February 2022.
Elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur are likely to be announced in the first half of January next year.
As per the ECI schedule, the term of the existing State government ends on March 15, 2022 and as such, the new government has to sworn in before that.
The election panel had recently visited Punjab to take stock of election preparedness.
Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey are part of 12-member team that arrived in batches and more slated to come on Tuesday.
The Commission’s team will also comprise two Deputy Election Commissioners, Nitesh Vyas and T Sreekanth, and Director General Sheyphali B Sharan along with director, secretary, under secretary and joint secretary.
A meeting with Chief Election Officer (CEO) and Police Nodal Officer, Enforcement Department and political party representatives is scheduled on December 21.
On the same day, the ECI will also interact with Election Icons, District Election Officers and Superintendents of Police (SPs).
The CEC will also launch Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative, ECI voters guide and various other IT modes that will be implemented during the elections process.
On December 22, meetings will be held with the State government representatives including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police and others, to oversee the preparations for the elections.
CEC Chandra will also interact with media, before concluding the visit.
