GUWAHATI: The full Bench of the Election Commission (EC), headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, reviewed Assam’s poll preparedness on Tuesday.
“Review meeting on Poll Preparedness is underway in Guwahati in the presence of CEC Shri Gyanesh Kumar, along with EC Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and EC Dr Vivek Joshi, with IGs, DIGs, DEOs, and SPs/SSPs of Assam,” the ECI posted on X.
The ECI delegation is likely to meet other senior officials of the state government. Earlier in the day, the delegation, along with Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel and other senior election officials, held meetings with recognised national and state political parties' representatives.
The meetings were held with Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, All India United Democratic Front, Asom Gana Parishad, Bodoland People’s Front and United People’s Party Liberal.
A majority of the political parties reportedly demanded the conduct of the elections in a single phase or a maximum of two phases. They also gave suggestions for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the polls.
The ECI delegation, which arrived on Monday, is expected to take stock of the Special Revision of electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, the Assam unit of Communist Party of India (Marxist) urged the ECI to ensure an error-free electoral roll and free and fair elections.
In a memorandum submitted to the CEC, the party said official data relating to the Special Revision showed that 35,94,983 claims and objections were received statewide.
"Of these, 12,97,796 were filed under Form-7 seeking deletion of names. A total of 10,63,647 such objections and 5,86,146 new inclusions under Form-6 were accepted," the party said.
It added, “While deletions on legitimate grounds are part of any revision, the extraordinary volume and high acceptance rate of deletion warrant scrutiny to ensure that the constitutional guarantee of franchise under Article 326 has not been compromised through procedural infirmities or coordinated misuse.”
Assam, which has 126 Assembly seats, is expected to go to the polls in March-April. The term of the current Assembly will expire on May 20. The 2016 and 2021 Assembly polls were held in two and three phases, respectively.
