ECI Team to Review Maharashtra Assembly Poll Preparation

Mumbai: As a precursor to the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI) will be visiting Mumbai from Thursday to Saturday to take stock of poll preparations.

The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls are expected to be held after the Diwali festival around mid-November.

The ECI team, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, will arrive in Mumbai on Thursday evening. They will first meet representatives of political parties on Friday. The ECI officials will later hold a meeting with Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, State Police Nodal Officer (SPNO) and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF), followed by a meeting with enforcement agencies.

This would be followed by a briefing and meeting with Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik and Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla and top IAS and IPS officers.

On Saturday, there would be a meeting with District Collectors and Superintendents of Police to take review of district-wise preparations.

The state election commission has already geared up for the assembly elections with Chockalingam holding a review meeting early this month with District Collectors and Chief District Election Officers where various issues like Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the updated voters’ list, status of polling material and district-level poll management, especially the availability of staff and security arrangements for free and fair elections, were discussed.

The ECI team's visit comes on the backdrop of chief minister Eknath Shinde’s recent statement that the Vidhan Sabha elections may take place in the second week of November as the term of the current assembly is till November 26.

With elections round the corner, both ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are engaged in the respective seat-sharing negotiations, which are expected to be completed by Dussehra.