Maharashtra, Haryana elections on October 21
RESULTS ON OCT 24 BJP, in power in both states, faces first test since LS win
NEWDELHI:
Voters in Maharashtra and Haryana will choose new state assemblies on October 21 in the first electoral challenge faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since it won a second straight term in power at the Centre in May under Prime Minister Narendra Modi .
Results of the elections will be declared on October 24, said the Election Commission, which unveiled the poll schedule in New Delhi on Saturday. Bypolls will also be held in 64 assembly constituencies across different states, and one Lok Sabha constituency, on October 21, chief election commissioner Sunil Arora told reporters.
Both states are ruled by the BJP, in an alliance with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, where Devendra Fadnavis in 2014 became the first politician from the party to become chief minister; the BJP had been the junior partner to the Sena earlier. Both state governments have completed their full five-year terms in office. In Haryana, the BJP formed its first majority government in 2014 under CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
Fadnavis and Khattar will be the BJP’s public faces in the two states in the elections that also promise to be a test of resilience for the Congress after its electoral rout in the Lok Sabha polls and the ability of interim president Sonia Gandhi to breathe new life into the grand old party.
“The morale of the Congress is at an all-time low. The BJP will likely sail through in Haryana and in Maharashtra,” said Neelanjan Sircar, assistant professor at Ashoka University and visiting senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. “But how much of a fight will the Congress put up? In times like these, we need a credible and vociferous opposition to give voters a choice. These elections will tell us a lot about the health of democracy in India.”
Both national-level factors and specific state-level configurations and issues are expected to influence the outcome of elections . Having come to power with a bigger majority on its own in the Lok Sabha in the April-May general elections, the BJP goes into the state polls with a four-and-ahalf-month track record in its second term in which it has passed the triple talaq bill that criminalises the Muslim practice of instant divorce; and pushed through measures to end the special status of J&K and bifurcate it into two states -- J&K and Ladakh -- among others.
A slowdown that caused economic growth to decelerate to 5% in the quarter ended June has been a cause of concern.
CHANDIGARH : With the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana, the model code of conduct (MCC) has come into effect in the state with immediate effect.
While polling will be held on October 21, the counting of votes of will take place on October 24.
Talking to mediapersons, Haryana chief electoral officer (CEO) Anurag Agarwal said the notification for the election will be issued on September 27 and the last date for filling nominations will be October 4.
He said the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7. He said the final voter list has been published as per which 1.83 crore voters will exercise their right to franchise this time. There are 3.64 lakh voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years. The voter turnout in 2014 Vidhan Sabha election was 76.5 %.
The CEO said that 19,442 voting centres had been established in the state, including 5,511 in urban areas and 13,931 in rural areas. There are 10,288 polling locations in the state, he said.
Besides, an arrangement of 27,996 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines has been made.
Agarwal said that this time the EC has adopted a tough stance against the defacement of property, hence directions have been sent to all deputy commissioners for carrying out different set of activities. The EC will activate the c-VIGIL app from Sunday onwards and anyone could upload the photographs regarding the violation of MCC on this app. Agarwal said that voter helpline 1950 is functional round the clock.
Regarding the issue of paid news, he said the district and state level media certification and monitoring committees have been constituted.
He said the income tax department has also started a toll free number 1800-180-4815 for the monitoring of election expenditure of the candidates.
The state government has also requisitioned 200 companies of paramilitary forces for the polls.
HOW PARTIES FARED IN 2014 ELECTIONS
While the BJP had won 47 seats in 2014, there were 19 MLAs of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and 17 of the Congress. The BSP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won one each seat and there were five independent MLAs.