Election Commission team visits Telangana to assess election preparations

Hyderabad: The three-day Telangana tour of the ECI team has started from today to assess the election preparedness. During this period the team will meet political parties, enforcement agencies and other stakeholders. On the first day of the tour, the team will hold a meeting of national and state recognized political parties. Three representatives from each political party have been invited for the meeting to be held in the afternoon. The Commission will take the opinion and suggestions of the parties regarding conducting elections. This will be followed by a meeting with the enforcement agencies to discuss key issues related to the upcoming elections. In the meeting, measures will be decided to stop the influence of money, liquor and other inducements on voters. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj and nodal officers from the state and central police forces will make presentations to the ECI team on election preparedness. The next day the team will flag off Cyclothon and Walkathon as part of voter awareness campaign. After this, there will be a meeting with District Election Officers, Collectors and Superintendents of Police to review the preparations at the district level. On 5th October, ECI team will visit the exhibition on Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities. The Election Commission team will interact with eminent personalities from the state, persons with disabilities (PWD) voters and young voters to promote awareness and participation in the democratic process. After this the team will hold an important meeting with Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari and Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar to discuss election preparations. The CEC and other Commissioners will conclude the visit with a press conference. A week or 10 days after the visit, the Election Commission may announce the election schedule for the 119-member assembly.