Assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will be held between 7th and 30th next month, while counting of votes in the five states will take place on December 3. The Election Commission of India has announced the assembly election schedule in five states. Voting will be held in Mizoram in a single phase on 7th November, notification for this will be issued on 13th of this month. In Chhattisgarh, the first phase of voting will be held on November 7 and the second phase on November 17. Notification for the first phase will be released on 13th of this month and for the second phase on 21st. Whereas in Madhya Pradesh, the notification for voting to be held on 17th November will be issued on 21st October, while in Rajasthan, the notification for voting to be held on 23rd November will be issued on 30th October. Voting will be held in Telangana in a single phase on November 30. Election notification in the state will be issued on November 3.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in New Delhi said that the assembly elections in these five states have special importance because these will be the last assembly elections to be held before the 2024 general elections. He assured that the Election Commission will ensure clean and irregularities-free elections in these five states. He also said that the Election Commission has laid special emphasis on creating healthy, error-free and inclusive voter lists. There are a total of 679 assembly seats in the five states and sixteen crore voters. In these elections, more than 60 lakh voters will exercise their franchise for the first time.
The Election Commission visited all the five States and held detailed review meetings with Chief Electoral Officers, district and State administrations and Central and State enforcement agencies. 17 thousand seven hundred 34 model polling stations will be created in these states. The work of 621 polling stations will be looked after by physically handicapped people. It has been assured that minimum facilities will be provided at all polling stations. The Chief Election Commissioner said that polling stations will be set up for tribal voters in reserved forest areas and sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh. It has also been said that through the C-Vigil app, any citizen can report any election related irregularities to the Election Commission. Every complaint will be processed within 100 minutes.
More than 940 inter-state check posts will also be created in the five states to prevent movement of cash, liquor, freebies and drugs from across the border. The Chief Election Commissioner said that a system for managing the seizure of illegal materials is being started in the five states for malpractice-free elections.
