CEC Gyanesh Kumar offers prayer at temples in Kangra, Dharamshala
Kangra, June 6
On the second day of his visit to Himachal Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar turned to spiritual and religious activities in the Kangra Valley by offering prayers at temples, an official said on Saturday.
Accompanied by his family members, CEC Gyanesh Kumar visited the Kangra Fort and Bajreshwari Devi Temple in Kangra, a statement said.
He also offered prayers at the Chamunda Devi Temple in Dharamshala, it added.
Earlier on Friday, CEC Gyanesh Kumar arrived in Dharamshala and interacted with election officials and Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
He spoke to BLOs and appreciated their efforts in updating electoral rolls and maintaining the purity of the voters' list.
The CEC's visit to the hill state comes at a time when state election officials have begun preparations for Assembly elections likely to be held in November 2027 to elect all 68 members.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision - Phase III has started in Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Manipur.
An official said in a statement that the enumeration phase for Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Manipur began on May 3.
"All eligible electors whose Enumeration Forms are received by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) on or before June 28, 2026, will be included in the Draft Electoral Rolls," the ECI said.
"Electors who are unable to submit their Enumeration Forms by June 28, 2026, may apply through Form-6 along with the prescribed Declaration Form during the claims and objections period," it added.
During the enumeration phase of SIR, BLOs conduct house-to-house visits and provide enumeration forms to all existing electors.
The ECI said electors may submit the duly filled form either through the BLO or online.
To ensure maximum coverage, BLOs will visit each household to distribute, collect, and verify forms.
"During house-to-house enumeration, the BLOs carry at least 30 blank Form-6 along with blank Declaration Forms, to supply to anyone who seeks to enrol as a new elector," it added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The CEC's visit to Chamunda Devi Temple and Bajreshwari Devi is a nice gesture, but I'm more interested in the election work. The update about BLOs distributing forms and the June 28, 2026 deadline for electoral roll inclusion is crucial. Every vote matters!
This is just a PR exercise before elections. Why does the CEC need to visit temples and take family along? Should have focused on meeting more BLOs and addressing ground-level issues. The real work is in ensuring no voter is left out, not photo ops. 😒
As someone from the US, I find it interesting how election officials in India combine administrative work with religious visits. The focus on house-to-house enumeration and online form submission seems very thorough. Hope the voter list cleanup goes well.
Bajreshwari Devi and Chamunda Devi temples are so beautiful! The CEC's family visit seems quite normal for Himachal. More importantly, the SIR process with BLOs visiting every home is great. I just hope the June 2026 deadline doesn't rush things and errors creep in.
Impressive that the EC is starting preparation 4 years before the 2027 Himachal elections. The form-6 process with BLOs carrying blank forms seems efficient. But 30 copies per BLO might not be enough in densely populated areas. Hope they have backup plans.
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