EC announces dates for Assembly polls in five states

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) on Saturday announced the schedule for upcoming Assembly elections in five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Chief election commissioner OP Rawat said voting will be held in Chhattisgarh in two phases, whereas there will be single phase voting in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram. “Counting of votes in all five states is scheduled to take place on 11 December. Date of polling for Rajasthan and Telangana is on 7 December, date of polling for Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram is on 28 November. Date of polling for the two-phase election in Chhattisgarh is on 12 November for phase I and 20 November for phase II,” Rawat said. Rawat said the election in Chhattisgarh would be held in two phases because some areas in the state were affected by left wing extremism. “The Assembly constituencies going to polls in the first phase of Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are affected by left wing extremism violence. There are 18 constituencies which will go to polls in the first phase and the remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls in the second phase.” The EC said there were a total of 90 Assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh. Elections in the five state are crucial since it will be a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which are currently being ruled by the BJP at present. The election in the three state assume significant because the BJP is trying for a fourth term in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while trying to retain power in Rajasthan. The three states also played a significant role for the BJP in the 2014 general elections when it had won 62 out of the 65 Lok Sabha seats in these three states. The upcoming series of election will also witness the Congress party protect its last bastion in the northeast. Mizoram is the only remaining state in the northeast, which is not under the rule of BJP-led NDA. Elections in northeast are crucial as the eight states together have 25 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP-NDA combine want to continue its political dominance in the region. Source: Live Mint