The State Election Commission of Himachal Pradesh has finalised the deployment of 41 senior officers as Election Observers for the 2026 Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj elections.
The appointments aim to ensure the smooth and transparent conduct of the polls across the state.
The appointments were confirmed on May 1 through urgent orders issued from the Commission’s headquarters at Armsdale under the direction of State Election Commissioner Anil Kumar Khachi. While most observers had been appointed earlier, the Commission made last-minute changes by replacing five officers to improve election monitoring.
Under the final deployment, Kangra and Shimla districts will each be assigned six observers. Chamba will have five officers monitoring, Mandi four, and both Una and Sirmour will receive three observers each. Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan, and Kullu will be assigned two observers apiece. Kinnaur will have one observer, and Lahaul and Spiti will be overseen by two officers.
On April 30, five key replacements were made: Deepti Mandhotra (HAS) will replace Rohit Jamwal (IAS) at Bilaspur and Ghumarwin; Suneel Sharma (IAS) will oversee Palampur and Baijnath instead of Ram Kumar Gautam (IAS); Rajiv Kumar (IAS) is assigned to Kullu, Manali and adjoining areas, replacing Neeraj Kumar (IAS); Dorje Chhering Negi (IAS) will supervise Solan Municipal Corporation and Kandaghat, taking over from Ashwani Kumar Sharma (IAS); and Pradeep Kumar Thakur (IAS) has been appointed for Dharamshala and Kangra, replacing Vinay Singh (IAS).
The Commission stated that the observers have been appointed under Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution to ensure the elections are conducted in a free, fair and independent manner. The observers' duties begin immediately upon receipt of their orders and will continue until the entire election process has concluded.
For logistical arrangements, observers stationed in Shimla have been instructed to collect identity lapels, authority letters and guidelines from the Commission’s office. Observers in other districts will receive these documents through their respective Deputy Commissioners.
All election-related officials have been directed to extend full cooperation to the observers in order to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.