Dates for polls in Maharashtra and Haryana will be announced at noon.
Voting in the northern state of Haryana and western state of Maharashtra, home to the financial hub of Mumbai, will be on October 21, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said. Votes will be counted on October 24, he said. The last date for filing nominations is October 4 and the deadline for withdrawing them is October 7. These are the first state polls after the national election this year that the BJP swept, clearing the way for a second term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in both of the states. The party won all of the seats in Haryana in the May general election.
While the term of 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9, that of the 90-member Haryana assembly expires on November 2.
The ruling BJP and its ally Shiv Sena have already jump-started their campaign in Maharashtra, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis taking out a Maha Jan Aadesh Yatra last month to reach out to voters in the state. The outreach programme was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Here are the Highlights on Election Commission announcement for polling dates in Maharashtra, Haryana:
DMK and Congress to contest one seat each in Tamil Nadu by-elections, and Congress to contest one seat in Puducherry by-elections.
"Will announce our stand on Sunday": Deve Gowda
Asked about the possibility of an alliance between Congress and JDS, Deve Gowda said: "We will announce our stand on Sunday, on how many constituencies we will contest. Our party's stand is that no matter if we win or lose we have had enough of coalition".
Two special expenditure observers, both retired Indian Revenue Service officers, will be sent to Maharashtra to check election spending by candidates, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told reporters today.
These are the first state polls after the national election this year that the BJP swept, clearing the way for a second term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in both of the states. The party won all of the seats in Haryana in the May general election.
Apart from Karnataka, by-elections will be held across Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, MP, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, on October 21. Counting will take place on October 24.
Fifteen seats in Karnataka -- the seats that fell vacant after Karnataka MLAs were disqualified--will go for by polls on October 21.
The biggest social media entities have come up with a Voluntary Code of Ethics, and have submitted it to the Election Commission: CEC Sunil Arora
Schedule for 64 by elections across the country also to be announced today along with Maharastra and Haryana assembly elections, says CEC Sunil Arora
"Candidates will be allowed to spend Rs 28 lakh on poll expenses," CEC Sunil Arora says
"Election campaigns have an environment cost, we have asked political parties not to use plastic. We will reissue our appeal," says CEC Sunil Arora.
1.82 crore registered voters in Haryana, Maharashtra has 8.94 crore voters: CEC Sunil Arora
- The 5-year term of the Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra expires on November 2 and November 9.
- Officials have visited both Maharashtra and Haryana to conduct on-ground surveys.
- Since it's been less than six months since the 17th Lok Sabha polls, both states were found to be prepared.
- Haryana has 1.82 crore registered voters and Maharashtra has 8.94 crore voters.
- The Election Commission has visited both Maharashtra and Haryana to facilitate voting for people with disabilities.
Election Commission is privileged to play role in democracy, says CEC Sunil Arora
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora is briefing the press on the dates for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.