tripura: Assembly polls 2023: EC full team on two-day visit to Tripura from January 11

The full bench of the Election Commission is scheduled to visit Tripura for two days starting from January 11 next year to review preparedness for the state assembly elections due early 2023, an official said on Thursday. The ECI team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar will hold meetings with representatives of political parties during its visit to the northeastern state and take stock of security arrangements for the polls to the 60-member assembly.

“The full EC team, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and two election commissioners – Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel – is scheduled to arrive here on January 11 and will review poll preparedness the next day,” Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao told PTI.

During the visit, the EC team will have meetings with poll officials and the chief secretary and will also “check the revised electoral rolls and other preparations for conducting free and fair elections”, he said.

The final electoral rolls for the assembly polls will be published on January 5 next year, the CEO said.

The EC team will also hold a “separate meeting on security arrangements with the superintendents of police of all the eight districts of Tripura in the presence of DGP and IGP”, he said.

Altogether 100 companies of central paramilitary forces have been sanctioned to ensure adequate security in the run-up to the elections in the northeastern state. Several companies of central forces have already arrived here, and a process of deploying them in districts has been initiated, the official said.

“The EC team will also have meetings with representatives of political parties and will seek their suggestions for free and fair elections,” the CEO said.

The EC team is scheduled to leave the state for Meghalaya’s Shillong on January 13 to review the election preparedness there.