EC on tour of states to review preps for Lok Sabha polls

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) will resume its review of states’ preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls with a visit to Odisha later on Thursday and complete the process in Jammu and Kashmir on March 13, sources said.

In January, the Commission reviewed the preparations in Andhra Pradesh, where Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held together. The Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and comprising Election Commissioner Arun Goel will be in Odisha Thursday night, the sources said.

Besides Andhra, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will see simultaneous parliamentary and Assembly polls. The panel will also be touring West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, besides other states. It will visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 13, the sources said.

The Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has a provision for a legislative Assembly but is under Central rule. The Supreme Court had last year asked the EC to hold Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2024. It is usual for the EC to tour states ahead of Assembly or Lok Sabha elections to meet political parties, senior police and administrative officials and its ground poll machinery.

But there have been exceptions in the past when the EC has visited a poll-bound state after announcing the election schedule. It is, however, not yet certain whether the EC will visit all the states and union territories. It may skip states where Assembly polls were held recently.