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EC to meet top officers from states where polls are due
January 08, 2003 20:36 IST
The Election Commission has convened a meeting in Delhi on Thursday of top civil and police officers from Himachal Pradesh, Meghayala, Nagaland and Tripura, where assembly elections are due in February.
EC sources on Wednesday said that the meeting would be attended by the chief secretaries, home secretaries, Directors General of Police and the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from these four states and would 'take stock of election-related preparations'.
While the term of the Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh assemblies expires on March eight and 11, respectively, that of Nagaland and Tripura would come to an end on March 22, 2003.
In December 2002, Election Commissioners T S Krishnamurthy and B B Tandon had reviewed the overall preparations, law and order situation, progress in issuance of voters' identity cards and training in use of Electronic Voting Machines at a meeting with the CEOs of these four states.
Following that, Deputy Election Commissioner Sayan Chatterjee and other officials had visited the three north-eastern states for an on-the-spot study of the situation.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Wednesday directed the Himachal Pradesh government to transfer all officers related with the conduct of assembly polls, who were posted in their home districts or were occupying the same post for more than four years.
This was conveyed to the government by top Election Commission officials during their meeting with the state chief secretary, home secretary and the Director General of Police in Shimla on Wednesday morning, commission sources said.
The commission also asked the officials if any additional help was required by the administration for holding free and fair polls, the sources said.
Elections to three far flung constituencies in the state would be held in June when the snow on the high mountain passes melts and the areas beyond become accessible by road.
The MLAs from the area want simultaneous polls, but no political party has made any such request so far, the sources said.
More reports from Himachal Pradesh
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