State Assembly Polls Schedule in 5 States Announced by CEC
O.P. Rawat, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), today announced the schedule for state assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana. The schedule will see Chhattisgarh voting in two phases, due to issues with polling in Naxal affected areas. All other states will be polling in a single phase.
Chhattisgarh will see voting start in 18 constituencies in the south of the state on November 12, followed by voting in the remaining 72 constituencies on November 20. Results will be declared on December 12. Prior to this, the notification of the polls would be issued on October 16 and 26 respectively, with the last dates for withdrawing nominations being October 26 and November 5.
Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will see voting on November 28, and the counting of votes will take place on December 11. The terms for both state assemblies extend beyond this date. The term for the Mizoram Assembly expires on December 15, while in Madhya Pradesh, the Assembly’s term will come to an end on January 7, 2019. This is unlike Telangana state where the Chief Minister, now Caretaker Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao had dissolved the State Assembly in September, a full nine months before the end of its term, hoping to avoid simultaneous elections at the state and national levels in order to make the most of the political advantage his party has.
Rajasthan and Telangana will conduct voting on December 7, and votes will be counted on December 11.