New Delhi:
The election process in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, which go to polls on November 25, was initiated on Friday with the issue of gazette notification by the respective Governors of the two states.
Counting in Madhya Pradesh will be held on December 8 while that in Mizoram on December 9. The candidates can start filing their nominations from Friday till November 8.
A total of 4.65 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh will elect their new 230-member Assembly where the incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government is seeking to stage a hat-trick. 35 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled tribes.
In Mizoram, as many as 6.86 lakh electors will exercise their franchise to elect the new 40-member state assembly where the Congress government headed by Lalthanhawla is seeking to stage a comeback. 39 of the constituencies in Mizoram are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The tenure of Madhya Pradesh Assembly ends on December 12 and that of Mizoram on December 15.
After scrutiny of nominations papers on November 9, the last date for withdrawal of nominations is November 11.
The voters in both the states will also exercise for the first time the 'None of the Above' option in these elections, while in Mizoram electors in 10 assembly constituencies will also exercise the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system for the first time.