To take stock of the preparations for the next lok Sabha election, Joint Election Commissioner of India, Vinod Jutsi, is coming to lucknow on Sunday to hold meetings with State officials.
According to sources, on the first day of his two-day visit, Jutsi will hold meeting with State chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha and his subordinates over publication of fresh electoral rolls and also discuss arrangements for smooth and fair conduct of polls.
The Election Commission of India would be publishing the new electoral rolls in the state on February 1. UP has the largest numbers of voters in the country — around 110 million in 80 lok Sabha constituencies.
Jutsi will also meet the representatives of political parties and senior officials of the State, including the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police and the Principal Secretary (Home).
In his interaction with the political parties, the ECI official will seek their suggestions for conducting free and fair elections also seek suggestions on issues related to campaigning, poll expenditure and also on how many polling phases they want.
The ECI will seek information from the State officials about the requirement of Central forces during the polls, security arrangements during campaigning and on polling day. The ECI official will also seek information from the state police about the preventive action against anti-social elements. The ECI is expected to hold the lok Sabha election in UP in five phases under the full cover of Central forces.