ECI team, including Maneesh Garg, visited Manipur to review poll preps

According to officials, sr dy election commissioner (DEC) Garg was part of the team that flew to the northeastern state from Delhi to hold closed-door meetings

A 12-member Election Commission of India (ECI) team, including senior official Maneesh Garg, visited Manipur last week to review poll preparations and assess the security situation ahead of the assembly elections scheduled in the violence-hit state early next year, people aware of the matter said on Thursday.

The name of another official, director general (IT) Seema Khanna, was also on the list but she cancelled her visit last minute. (File photo)

According to officials, senior deputy election commissioner (DEC) Garg was part of the team that flew to the northeastern state from Delhi to hold closed-door meetings, interact with nodal officers and review security arrangements. Manipur is scheduled to go to polls early next year, alongside Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand.

The name of another official, director general (IT) Seema Khanna, was also on the list shared with the Manipur government, but she cancelled her visit at the last minute, the officials added.

“Their visit kicked off the poll process. There was a presentation by state police nodal officer, followed by a meeting of all district election officers, and superintendents of police. The security aspect of holding the election peacefully when there are clashes was also discussed,” one officer aware of the matter said.

Garg had come under the spotlight after it emerged that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had written to the Cabinet Secretary earlier this year regarding his alleged misconduct. Their letter was accompanied by a copy of Garg’s order allocating work to himself and other ECI officials, including Khanna, after he was given additional charge of administrative division on July 28.

The ECI delegation was in Manipur from October 21 to 23. During this period, it also came to the fore that the cabinet secretariat had forwarded the letters written by the two election commissioners to the office of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The panel’s visit came against the backdrop of renewed clashes in Manipur. Valley districts were under a shutdown during the same period following the killings of four Meitei men in two separate incidents. Amid heightened tensions, senior ECI officials held meetings with the chief secretary, police chief, district police chiefs and other officials to assess election preparedness.

The officer quoted earlier in the story said all district superintendents of police made presentations to ECI officials on the prevailing hotspots in their respective areas and the resources required to conduct the elections.

“While training of nodal officers and using machines etc is a regular exercise, the situation in Manipur is different due to the massive security requirement. The district police chiefs in their presentation did talk about how the more security is required. The existing forces too will have to be deployed according to a safe pattern for fair elections,” the officer added.

Conducting assembly elections in Manipur poses a major challenge amid the ongoing ethnic conflicts between the Nagas and Kukis, and the Meiteis and Kukis. The violence has divided communities and created ethnic enclaves separated by what have effectively become boundaries between groups.

At least 10 districts have been affected by the violence. The Centre has deployed a large number of security personnel across the state, including in areas between districts, to prevent clashes.