EC team arrives in Assam to assess pre-poll arrangements

Assam is the first poll-bound state this year to host an on-ground review by the Election Commission of India

With Assembly elections due in a couple of months, Assam has become the first poll-bound state this year to host an on-ground review by the Election Commission of India. On Monday, a full Commission team, including the Chief Election Commissioner, both Election Commissioners, Director Generals and other senior officials, left for Assam on a two-day pre-election preparedness visit and is scheduled to return by Wednesday evening.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi arrives to review poll preparedness for forthcoming Assam Assembly Elections in Guwahati on Monday. (PTI)

The visit follows Assam’s completion of its Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls. The Commission is expected to assess early poll arrangements, including the availability and functionality of Electronic Voting Machines (Ballot Units, Control Units and VVPATs), deployment of polling personnel, logistics planning, law and order preparedness, and the overall readiness of district election machinery before finalising the election schedule.

The final electoral rolls in Assam have been published, with around 243,000 names deleted from the draft list. With the Assembly’s term ending on May 20, officials in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said “there are no pending statutory processes that could delay the announcement of elections,” indicating that the state is administratively prepared for the next stage of the poll process.