Panaji: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar arrived in Goa on Wednesday for a two-day official visit to assess ground-level electoral processes, interact with field officials, and engage with youth voters ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, senior Election Commission officials said.
Goa Chief Electoral Officer Dr. Sanjay Goel, along with other officials, welcomed the CEC upon his arrival at the airport.
The visit focuses primarily on field-level experiences and electoral awareness.
The CEC is scheduled to interact with over 1,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on Wednesday to review feedback from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted in early 2026.
On Thursday, the CEC will interact with students associated with Electoral Literacy Clubs to promote democratic awareness among young citizens.
Officials clarified that no formal interactions with political parties are scheduled during this trip, though the full Election Commission plans to hold a comprehensive review meeting in October or November.
The electoral roll revision resulted in a 10.2 per cent net reduction in Goa’s voter list, dropping the total elector count from 11,85,034 to 10,57,566 following the deletion of 1,39,634 names.
The deletion of voters’ names had triggered a major political controversy in the state, with the main Opposition Congress alleging that the exercise disproportionately targeted its supporters and resulted in the removal of several eligible voters.
The official review gains significance as Goa prepares for its next Legislative Assembly elections, expected in February 2027 before the current term expires in March 2027.
In the previous Assembly elections held in February 2022, Goa recorded a polling percentage of 79.61 per cent across its 40 assembly constituencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious by winning 20 seats, while the Congress secured 11 seats. Among other key political parties, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) won two seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured two seats, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) won one seat, the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) won one seat, and Independent candidates bagged three seats.
The two-day engagement offers the Election Commission a direct opportunity to evaluate administrative machinery and refine voter enrollment frameworks ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle.
(IANS)
