Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 12 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday attended an important organisational meeting chaired by Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President Mahendra Bhatt, ahead of the upcoming three-tier panchayat elections in the state.

The meeting, held in Dehradun, was also attended by BJP General Secretary (Organisation) Ajaey Kumar, Ministers, MLAs, and senior party workers.

Chief Minister Dhami said the meeting involved a detailed discussion on the party's upcoming plans, public outreach campaigns, and strengthening organisational efforts in view of the panchayat elections. He emphasised that the enthusiasm and dedication of party workers and their connection with the people were the party's biggest strength. The Chief Minister said that all of us together are constantly striving to realise the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and make Uttarakhand a strong and prosperous state.

Meanwhile, in view of the upcoming polls, Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh has issued instructions to all local police stations to ensure a free and fair voting process. Intensive district-wide checking campaigns have been launched to curb illegal inducements and maintain law and order.

SSP Dehradun told ANI that in view of the current Panchayat elections, he has directed all the station in-charges of Dehradun to conduct the election process in a fair manner and to keep a vigilant eye on illegal activities by stopping all activities like giving any kind of inducement to vote in one's favor, on which the police is continuously running intensive checking campaigns in the entire district.

Earlier, the State Election Commission in Uttarakhand had issued a notification regarding the conduct of panchayat elections in 12 districts of the state, except Haridwar. According to the notification, the three-tier panchayat elections will be held in two phases in the state.

The notification signed by Sushil Kumar, Uttarakhand State Election Commissioner, comes after the Nainital High Court on Friday permitted the continuation of the panchayat election process, lifting its earlier stay order issued on June 23.

Voting under the first phase will take place on July 24, and voting under the second phase will take place on July 28. The counting of votes will be done on July 31. (ANI)