National: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar was rescued by the ITBP in the hours of Thursday (October 17) after his helicopter made an emergency landing in Ralam village in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand yesterday, officials said. He along with his team had to spend the night in the village by breaking the lock of a migrated villager's house and lighting a fire with wood to stay warm, they added. The CEC was brought to Munsiyari by helicopter after the rescue operation.

“At 3 am, a rescue team from nearby villages reached Ralam, and by 4 am, an ITBP team also arrived. Due to the altitude of 15,000 feet, the rescue operation faced significant challenges. In the morning, everyone was brought safely to Munsiyari by the same helicopter. All individuals are safe,” officials said on Thursday.

The CEC along with 2 more officers, including Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Vijay Kumar Jogdande landed at Ralam Village of Pithoragarh yesterday after the emergency landing due to bad weather. The chopper was landed around 1 pm today. The top poll body official was on a visit to Adi Kailash, Uttarakhand when his chopper suffered turbulence due to bad weather, prompting to an emergency landing.

The Chief Election Commissioner on October 15 announced the schedule for Assembly Elections to be held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand at a press conference in New Delhi.

He announced that Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. The counting of votes will be held on November 23.