Lucknow, February 29:ย A 13-member team of the Election Commission of India reached the state capital Lucknow on Thursday on a three-day visit to review the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.ย
The Election Commission team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar began the first day of its visit with the launch of an exhibition based on the evolution of India’s electoral system.ย The Commission team also held a review meeting with the officials.
During this, the Election Commission of India discussed the arrangements for resources necessary for free, fair and peaceful voting in the state. Apart from this, the Commission team also held a meeting with national and state recognized political parties.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner Arun Goyal along with the Commission’s team were welcomed at the airport by State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa. After that, the Election Commission of India team reached Yojana Bhawan directly from the airport, where Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner Arun Goyal and the Commission’s team inspected and inaugurated the exhibition based on the theme ‘Elections: Moving Steps’. This exhibition depicts the evolution of the Indian electoral system over time.
This exhibition is very informative for new voters and common citizens. It depicts the entire journey from the first general election of independent India in 1951 to the adoption of VVPAT by the Election Commission in 2013. It is also mentioned that 53 political parties and 1874 candidates had participated in the first general elections held on 489 seats. New arrangements added to the electoral system over time, including the use of EVMs in the Farur Assembly of Kerala in 1982, such as the provision of NOTA, colorful PVC EPIC, facilities being provided to the elderly and disabled at polling stations are also shown.
After inaugurating the exhibition, the Election Commission of India team along with Chief Electoral Officer, State Police Nodal Officer Prashant Kumar and CAPF Nodal Officer L.R. Kumar, Central CAPF Nodal Officer Satpal Rawat, Additional Director General of Police Law and Order Amitabh S. Reviewed the preparations for Lok Sabha General Elections-2024. After that in the evening the Election Commission team held a meeting with national and state recognized political parties. During this, the Election Commission team held talks with the representatives of all the parties one by one.
The Election Commission team that came to the state included Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner along with Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Dharmendra Sharma, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Vyas, Deputy Election Commissioner Ajay Bhadu, Deputy Election Commissioner Hidesh Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner RK Gupta, Deputy Election Commissioner Commissioner MK Sahu, Director General B. Narayanan, Director Deepali Masirkar, Director Shubhra Saxena, Secretary Pawan Dewan and Joint Director Anuj Chandak were present.
The Commission team held talks with representatives of national and state recognized political parties including Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Samajwadi Party.
