Election Commission of India gets cracking in Telangana to be election-ready

HYDERABAD: Telangana chief electoral officer Vikas Raj Wednesday said the assembly elections in the state will be held as per the schedule in December. The state last witnessed the assembly polls in 2018.
While the Election Commission of India has started the preparations for the polls, that are likely to be held in the last quarter of 2023, Vikas Raj told TOI that there were no indications from ECI on holding early elections. "The ECI will take a call on the poll schedule. Technically, preparations for the assembly elections began in January itself," he said.
Recently, ECI officials from Delhi came to Hyderabad and held discussions with state officials. Vikas Raj is attending a conference in Delhi where CEOs of all states met with ECI officials on implementing new practices for conducting polls in a fair manner.
A three-member ECI team reviewed the election preparedness, particularly training of poll officials of all levels and awareness programmes to increase poll percentage.
Senior deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, who held a meeting on April 15, took stock of the revision of electoral rolls. He called upon officials to constantly review electoral rolls and ensure a foolproof list. Vyas also directed the CEO to prepare a comprehensive list of returning officers across the state.
The ECI team directed the state-level officers to begin the first level of checking of EVMs from June 1. In addition, the team also directed the CEO to organise a two-day workshop for district election officers. Vikas Raj said the EVMs supplied by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd have been sent to the districts after proper testing.