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Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Monday.
The commission is likely to seek updates from Bhushan on the COVID-19 situation and the emergence of Omicron, the new coronavirus variant, sources said on Sunday. The terms of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur legislative Assemblies are ending on different dates in March next year while the Assembly’s term in Uttar Pradesh will end in May.
The Election Commission is expected to announce election dates next month. The commission may also seek suggestions from Bhushan on improving its COVID-19 protocol for poll campaigning, polling days and the dates of counting.
On Tuesday, the Chief Election Commissioner and fellow Election Commissioners are scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the poll preparedness in the state. The commission has already visited Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand as part of its pre-poll stock-taking exercise.
To add, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday address a rally in Mandi and inaugurate a completed hydroelectric project besides laying foundation stones of some new ones, including the one pending for the last 30 years, to mark the fourth anniversary of the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh.
Besides inaugurating and laying foundation stones of the hydroelectric power projects totalling Rs 11,281 crore, the Prime Minister will also preside over the second groundbreaking ceremony of the Himachal Pradesh Global Investors’ meet, the PMO said on Sunday.
The investors’ meet is expected to give a boost to investment in the region through the start of projects worth around Rs 28,000 crore, it added. The Himachal’s BJP government led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was sworn in on December 27, 2017, in presence of Prime Minister Modi in Shimla ridge Maidan. Amid the Prime Minister’s Monday engagements, the opposition Congress has decided to observe the day as Virodh Divas and intends to submit a memorandum to the governor against the alleged misrule, inflation and unemployment in the state.
Noting that Prime Minister Modi has constantly focussed on fully utilising the untapped potential of the resources available in the country, the PMO statement said, adding that optimally using the hydropower potential in the Himalayan region has been a step in this direction.
“The projects which will be inaugurated and whose foundation stones will be laid by the Prime Minister during the visit reflect a key step in this direction,” it added.
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