New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): With an aim to conduct free, fair and safe Assembly elections in five states, Election Commission of India is holding a meeting with the poll observers here on Friday.

According to the officials, this is the first briefing of the commission to the senior officers, who have been deployed in the forthcoming elections.

Around 900 officers designated as 'poll observers' in different categories, such as General, Police and Expenditure, are attending the meeting wherein the Commission is discussing the core issues of the electioneering process, the sources said.

Sources added that they have been asked to implement the Covid-19 protocol strictly during the election process.

On January 8, the Election Commission of India announced the dates of the upcoming Assembly elections in five poll-bound states, namely, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand.

Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls in seven phases, Manipur in two, the rest in a single phase, the ECI said.

The Uttar Pradesh elections will begin from February 10; Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab on February 14; and Manipur in 2 phases on February 27 and March 3.

The poll process will end on March 7 and the counting of votes will be done for all the five states on March 10.