A 10-member team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) arrived in Punjab on Tuesday, October 27, to review preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections. The team will assess administrative arrangements, security measures and electoral roll revision during its two-day visit on October 27 and 28.
The visit comes as the Election Commission has issued directions to Punjab and four other states, including Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to transfer officials involved in election-related duties ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.
The Election Commission team, led by senior officials, has begun review meetings at the headquarters in Chandigarh. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anandita Mishra is scheduled to give a detailed presentation on election preparations, following instructions issued by Election Commission Secretary Suman Kumar Das.
The meetings will involve the State Home Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP) and officials from various security agencies. Discussions will focus on law and order, sensitive polling areas and the deployment of security personnel.
The team will also interact with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and visit districts to assess arrangements on the ground. Particular attention will be given to areas with a high number of sensitive polling booths.
Ahead of the elections, the Commission has directed the state government to transfer officials who fall under specified categories to ensure a level playing field and officials directly involved in election duties cannot be posted in their home districts. Those who have completed three years in a district during the last four years, or are due to complete three years by the applicable cut-off date, must also be transferred out.
The directions cover District Election Officers (DEOs), Returning Officers (ROs), Assistant Returning Officers (AROs), Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Tehsildars and other relevant administrative officers.
Police personnel from Sub-Inspectors to senior officers, including those involved in election security and force deployment, are also covered. The directions extend to relevant officials in the excise and transport departments.
Sub-Inspectors cannot be posted in their home districts. District Election Officers, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers and specified police officers must also not be reposted to constituencies or districts where they served during the previous Assembly election or a subsequent by-election.
Officials facing criminal cases related to their official duties that are pending in court will not be assigned election-related responsibilities. Officers against whom the Commission has recommended disciplinary action, or who face allegations of negligence during elections, will also be kept away from election duties and officials posted at state headquarters are exempt from the transfer directions. Non-election personnel, including doctors, engineers and teachers, are also exempt.
The Commission's visit has drawn attention to the possible timeline for the Punjab Assembly elections. However, no official election schedule has been announced, during the 2022 Assembly elections, the Election Commission team visited Punjab on December 15 and 16, 2021. The election schedule was announced on January 8, 2022, around 24 days later. Voting took place on February 20, and counting was held on March 10.
The current term of the 117-member Punjab Assembly ends in March 2027. The election process must be completed before the term expires.
The Representation of the People Act, 1950, allows the Commission to hold elections earlier than six months before the expiry of an Assembly's term and the timing of the next Punjab elections will be confirmed through the Commission's official announcement.
