Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Election Commission Sends Officials to Poll-Bound States, Skips Full Visits
Senior Election Commission officials are preparing to visit states where elections are coming up.
The first visit is planned for Goa, followed by Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
The Commission has not said when it will visit Uttar Pradesh.
Usually, the chief election commissioner and other commissioners visit these states together before an election schedule is announced.
This time, the planned visits are being led by deputy election commissioners and other senior officials.
Uttar Pradesh and Goa have also started checking voting machines and paper trail units.
Engineers look for problems, and faulty equipment is sent back for repair or replacement.
Officials also test the machines in a mock poll with political party representatives present.
Deputy election commissioners and other senior officials will begin visiting five poll-bound states this week.
The visits are scheduled to start in Goa, then move to Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
The Election Commission has not announced when officials will visit Uttar Pradesh.
The full Commission, including the chief election commissioner and fellow commissioners, usually visits states ahead of an election schedule announcement.
Uttar Pradesh and Goa have begun initial checks of electronic voting machines and paper trail units.
- Who
- Senior Election Commission officials, led by deputy election commissioners.
- What
- Officials will visit poll-bound states to oversee election preparedness; the usual full Commission visits are not currently planned.
- When
- Visits begin this week, with Uttarakhand scheduled for next week and other visits in the coming weeks.
- Where
- Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur; the timing of a visit to Uttar Pradesh has not been announced.
- Why
- To oversee election preparedness at the field level.
- States named
- Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand
- Visit sequence
- Goa this week, Uttarakhand next week, followed by Punjab and Manipur in the coming weeks
- Uttar Pradesh visit
- No timing has been announced
- Usual practice
- The full Commission typically visits poll-bound states before announcing the election schedule
- Machine checks
- Uttar Pradesh and Goa have started first-level checks of electronic voting machines and paper trail units
- Check process
- Engineers check the equipment for mechanical flaws; faulty machines are returned for repair or replacement
- Mock polls
- Tests are held with representatives of political parties present