Election Commission team arrives in Shimla to review poll preparation for Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: A two-member team of the Election Commission on Wednesday arrived in Shimla to review the preparations for the state Assembly polls due to be held later this year. [caption id=“attachment_4017365” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] The team, comprising Deputy Election Commissioners Sandeep Saxena and Umesh Sinha, will hold talks with the top civil and police officers to take stock of the poll preparations in the state, official sources said. The last Assembly election in the state was held on 4 November, 2012 in a single phase. This time, too, the polls are expected to be held simultaneously in the entire state, including the tribal areas which become snowbound due to closure of high mountain passes in November. Issues like photo-identity cards, security arrangements, the number and location of polling booths would be discussed by the EC team. The commission would announce the schedule for the polls after assessing the situation, sources said. There are 7,479 polling booths in the state including the highest polling booth at Kibber.