Election Commission Teams To Visit 5 States From This Week
EC teams will review election arrangements across five states.
Senior Election Commission officials led by deputy election commissioners will begin visiting the five states scheduled to hold Assembly elections in 2027 from this week to assess election preparedness at the field level, officials said. The teams will begin their visits with Goa this week, followed by Uttarakhand next week. Punjab and Manipur are expected to be covered in the subsequent weeks, while the Election Commission has not yet announced a schedule for Uttar Pradesh.
The field visits are part of the Election Commission's preparations ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls. Traditionally, the full Commission, comprising the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, visits poll-bound states before the formal announcement of the election schedule. The visits allow officials to review arrangements related to electoral rolls, polling infrastructure, security, electronic voting equipment and other logistical requirements.
The terms of the five state Assemblies are due to end at different points in 2027. The 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly's term ends on May 22, while the terms of the 60-member Manipur, 40-member Goa, 117-member Punjab and 70-member Uttarakhand Assemblies end in March. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Election Commission can conduct an Assembly election earlier than six months before the expiry of its term.
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As part of the preparations, Uttar Pradesh and Goa have already begun first-level checks (FLCs) of electronic voting machines and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) units. During the process, engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which manufacture the equipment, examine the machines for mechanical and other faults. Units found to be defective are returned to the manufacturers for repair or replacement.
The FLC process also includes mock polls conducted in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties to verify the functioning of the machines. Data from previous elections stored in the control and ballot units is cleared during the process, while machines undergo diagnostic checks before being approved for further use. Units that successfully complete the checks are marked "FLC OK" and sealed with a specialised pink paper seal to prevent unauthorised access.
An electronic voting machine setup comprises at least one ballot unit, one control unit and one VVPAT machine. The first-level checking of this equipment is an important part of the broader election-readiness process and is carried out according to a calendar issued by the Election Commission. The upcoming field visits by senior EC officials are expected to provide a further assessment of preparations in the five poll-bound states ahead of the eventual election schedule.
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