EC announces poll schedule for 5 states, voting begins on Nov 7
New Delhi: The much-awaited poll dates for the Assembly elections in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram announced on Monday. The voting for five states will commence on November 7, which will conclude on November 30. The results of all the five states’ Assembly polls will be declared on December 3.
According to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, there will be a single-phase election in the states of Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana, while Assembly election in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases.
The voting for 40 seats in Mizoram will be held on November 7 along with 20 seats of Chhattisgarh on the same day. The elections for 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17 along with the remaining 70 seats of Chhattisgarh.
The voting for all 200 seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23, while the 119-member Telangana Assembly will be the last to go to polls on November 30.
While asserting that strong measures are being put in place to make these polls inducement-free, the CEC said that nearly 16 crore voters would be eligible to cast their votes in these elections.
The election in the five states is dubbed as the semi-final for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as this will be the last set of Assembly elections ahead of the general elections next year.
Notably, Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by BJP, Telangana by Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by Mizo National Front (MNF).
The CEC further said that all the five states will have 1.77 lakh polling stations, of which 1.01 lakh will have a webcasting facility and more than 8,000 polling stations will be managed by women.
“We have gathered here after a gap of six months. These elections are significant for the country and after this, we will meet for the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections,” Kumar said.
“We have met all stakeholders, including political parties and enforcement agencies, while preparing for the Assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana,” he said.
The CEC further said that the Election Commission (EC) has given a special emphasis on making electoral rolls inclusive and the focus will also be on “roll-to-poll” or ensuring that all voters come to vote.
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram will have 8.2 crore male and 7.8 crore female voters, while there will be 60.2 lakh first-time voters, he said, adding that voting will take place to elect representatives for 679 Assembly constituencies in five states.
For the first time, Kumar said, a new Election Seizure Management System is being introduced for the Assembly polls to enhance oversight to ensure inducement-free elections.
A total of 940 checkposts have been put in place for a strict vigil along interstate borders and to dry up an inflow of illicit liquor, cash, freebies and drugs, he said.
There will be zero tolerance for the use of money power and there will be a strict vigil over suspicious online cash transfers through wallets as well, the CEC said.
