GUWAHATI: A team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) has arrived in Assam for a two-day visit to assess the state’s preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections on Tuesday.
During their visit, the ECI team will engage with state officials, political parties, and various organisations to gather feedback and ensure smooth conduct of the forthcoming national election.
Special focus will be given to discussing security arrangements with the state police.
Ahead of the visit, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had expressed his desire to hold the Lok Sabha polls before the Rongali Bihu festival, scheduled to be celebrated from April 14.
Chief Minister Sarma had said that his government has urged the EC to conclude the election in the state before the Bihu festival.
“The Chief Secretary will convey our request to the EC team. If there is no such difficulty, we will appreciate finishing the elections before Bihu,” the local press had quoted Sarma as saying.
He had stressed that the festive mood during Bihu celebrations doesn’t go well with the Bihu celebrations and expressed his desire to keep election activities separate from the cultural festivities.
“All the talks about BJP or Congress do not match well with the Bihu atmosphere,” he had said.
Earlier, reports in the national press had suggested April 16 as the election date, but the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) later clarified that it was solely for reference purposes to calculate start and end dates in the Election Planner.
The CEO had stressed that the circular was not indicative of the actual election dates.
In the previous Lok Sabha Election in 2019, Assam conducted voting in three phases.
