NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially announced the poll schedules in the states of Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa.
In Manipur, the election for the 60-member Assembly will be held in two phases.
The first phase of the polls will be held in February 27, while the second phase will be held in March 3.
The counting of the votes will be held on March 10.
Elections will be held for 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, 117 in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa, said Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra.
He further added that elections in five states will be conducted in seven phases.
18.34 crore voters will participate in this election out of which 8.55 crore are woman electors.
24.9 lakh are first time electors out of which 11.4 lakhs are women.
There will be 2,15,368 polling station across the 5 states - the number of polling stations has been increased by 16% keeping in mind the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Election Commission has announced that candidates who have criminal antecedents should publish their pending criminal cases three times before the polls.
Senior citizens above 80 years of age, persons with disabilities and Covid-19 patients will be able to vote by postal ballot.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect immediately from announcement of the schedules.
The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective implementation of the MCC guidelines. Any violation of these guidelines will be strictly dealt with, added the CEC.
This year, all election officials and employees will be considered as frontline workers and all eligible officers will be vaccinated with 'precautionary dose.'
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