Expenses above 20K via cheques, says CEC

The Election Commission of India announced on Wednesday the schedule for Assembly elections in five states. Politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will go to polls between February 4 and March 8.

CEC Nasim Zaidi said candidates would have to open a bank account for all election expenditures, and expenses above `20,000 will be made through cheques from the new accounts.

He added that donations above `20,000 would also be accepted through cheques.

The family feud and the split in the ruling Samajwadi Party have injected a new dimension in politics in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP hopes to capture power after 14 years on the back of a sweep in Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

The BSP and the Congress, the other main challengers, hope to make it a quadrangular fight.

Unlike the last elections, Manipur, which recently witnessed violence raising questions whether elections would be possible now, will have polling on March 4 (38 constituencies) and March 8 (22 seats). Here, the Congress seeks to retain power.

Polling will be held in Punjab and Goa together on February 4, and in Uttarakhand it will be held on February 15.

Punjab promises to be a three-way contest between the ruling SADBJP combine, the Congress and the new entrant AAP.

After developments in Uttarakhand in 2016, where the Congress was temporarily dislodged from power due to defections, the party and the BJP are set for a virtual direct fight on 70 seats.

In Goa, where the BJP seeks to retain most of the 40 seats to remain in power, AAP is being seen as a player which plans to topple the applecart of the Congress and BJP.