ELECTION COMMISSION ANNOUNCES ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS DATES FOR 5 STATES
A total of 690 Assembly constituencies in Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab will go to the polls this time.
(The Quiver) Today the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur in a press conference.
A total of 690 Assembly constituencies in Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab will go to the polls this time. These 690 Assembly constituencies will vote over the next two months, with the maximum in UP (403 seats) followed by Punjab (117), Uttarakhand (70), Manipur (60) and Goa (40). As many as 18.34 crore voters will vote, of which 8.55 crore are woman electors.
The five states will vote over seven phases starting February 10, with counting of votes scheduled for March 10. Uttar Pradesh will vote in each of the seven phases – on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3, and March 7.
Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand will vote on February 14.
Manipur will vote in two phases on February 27 March 3.
The Election Commission restricted political rallies and meetings till January 15, saying a review will be taken after that since the “ground situation is dynamic.
EC chief Sushil Chandra said, “For the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 has made conduct of elections difficult. It is our duty to see how to conduct elections safely. The EC has put in place new protocols”.
The Commission said it had decided to go ahead with the polls after detailed discussions with the Union Health Secretary and Home Secretary, experts, and health secretaries of the concerned states.
He added, “We are also giving the candidates the online facility to file nominations.” At least one polling booth in each assembly constituency will be exclusively managed by women personnel to encourage women voters, he added.
Senior citizens above 80 years of age, persons with disabilities and COVID-19 patients can vote by postal ballot, he said.
“Zero tolerance towards money-power and misuse of government machinery”, the Election Commission added.
