Arunachal and Sikkim will vote simultaneously in the general election and state polls
The counting of votes polled in the Assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim has been revised to June 2, the Election Commission said today. Earlier, counting of votes in these two states was to be held on June 4, when votes cast for the general election and for state polls in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh will be counted.
The counting date for these two states was revised because the term of their legislative Assemblies ends on June 2. The counting of votes on June 4 will, therefore, lead to a situation in which Arunachal and Sikkim won't have an elected Assembly for a couple of days. To avoid this, the poll body has said the counting of votes will be held on June 2, so that the results of the election are clear by the time the current Assembly completes its term.
The Election Commission has, however, specified that there would be no change in the schedule for Parliamentary elections in these two states. The 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country are going to polls from April 19. The voting will be held in seven phases. The two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal and one in Sikkim vote on April 19, in the first phase. Simultaneously, they will vote to elect their state governments.