NEW DELHI: A team of top officials from the Chief Election Commission (CEC) is set to tour various states from Monday to evaluate the preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections scheduled for April-May.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, will start the tour in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, where Assembly elections are anticipated to coincide with the Lok Sabha polls.
Initially, the election commission had planned visits to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from January 7 to 10. However, a revised plan now includes a later visit to Tamil Nadu to assess the state's readiness for the Lok Sabha polls.
Prior to this, a team comprising deputy election commissioners and other senior officers conducted visits to nearly all states to oversee preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. It is customary for the CEC and ECs to tour states ahead of Assembly or Lok Sabha elections, engaging with political parties, senior police, administrative officials, and the election machinery on the ground.
Recalling the timeline of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which were announced on March 10 and conducted in seven phases from April 11 to May 19, the counting of votes took place on May 23. The current state tours by the Chief Election Commission officials align with the standard practice of proactive assessment and engagement with stakeholders in preparation for the upcoming electoral processes.
