New Delhi: As the Election Commission prepares for assembly polls in five states early next year, its top brass is slated to interact with Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Monday.
The commission is likely to seek updates from Bhushan on the COVID-19 situation and the emergence of Omicron, the new coronavirus variant, sources said on Sunday.
The terms of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur legislative assemblies are ending on different dates in March next year while the assembly's term in Uttar Pradesh will end in May.
The Election Commission (EC) is expected to announce election dates next month.
The commission may also seek suggestions from Bhushan on improving its COVID-19 protocol for poll campaigning, polling days and the dates of counting.
On Tuesday, the chief election commissioner (CEC) and fellow election commissioners are scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the poll preparedness
in the state.
An Allahabad High Court bench of Justice Shekhar Yadav had on Thursday urged the government and the poll panel to consider postponing the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for a month or two and banning all political rallies amid fears of an impending third wave of COVID-19.