CURRENT UPDATE : EC ANNOUNCES POLL SCHEDULE FOR FIVE STATES

EC ANNOUNCES POLL SCHEDULE FOR FIVE STATES

Assembly elections will be held in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh from 11th November, the Election Commission announced on Friday.

While Chhattisgarh will have a two-phase polling on 11th November and 19th November, the remaining states will have a single-phase poll. 

Delhi and Mizoram will go to polls on 4th December, Madhya Pradesh on 25th November and Rajasthan on 1st December. 

Counting for all the five states will take place on 8th December, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath told a press conference in New Delhi. 

For the first time, voters will have an option of 'none of the above' (NOTA) in these polls where they can decide not to vote any of the candidates in the fray. 

Sampath said there were 11 crore voters spread over 630 constituencies in these five states. 

Voting will take place in 1.30 lakh polling stations, the CEC said, adding the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately. 

Replying to a question on disqualification of convicted MPs, he said the Election Commission will announce vacancies only after they are notified by Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker. 

The first phase of polls in Chhattisgarh will be held on 11th November for which the notification will be issued on 18th October. 

The last date of filing nominations will be 25th October and the last date of withdrawal will be 28th October. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on 26th October. 

The second phase of elections will take place on 19th November for which the notification will be issued on 25th October. 

While nominations can be filed till 1st November, scrutiny will be held on 2nd November. The last date of withdrawal is 4th November. 

For the 25th November poll in Madhya Pradesh, the notification will be issued on 1st November. 

The last date of filing nominations is 8th November. While scrutiny will take place on 9th November, nominations can be withdrawn till 11th November. 

In Rajasthan, where the elections will be held on 1st December, the notification will be issued on 5th November. 

While 12th November is the last date of filing nominations, they can be withdrawn till 16th November. In between, the scrutiny of the nominations will be carried out on 13th November. 

In Delhi and Mizoram, the elections will be held on 4th December. The notification for assembly polls in both the states will be issued on 9th November. 

The nominations can be filed till 16th November and scrutiny will take place on 18th November. 

The last date of withdrawing from the electoral race is on 20th November.