EC announces poll dates for 5 states, model code kicks in

MP voting Nov. 28, Rajasthan Dec. 7; results Dec. 11

Assembly elections in five states, considered to be the semi- final to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, will be held in four phases between November 12 and December 7 and the results will be declared on December 11, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.

The elections will be held in three BJP- ruled states Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, TRS- ruled Telangana and Congress- run Mizoram. The term of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly ( 230 seats) is ending on January 7, 2019, Rajasthan ( 200 seats) on January 20, Chhattisgarh ( 90 seats) on January 5 and Mizoram ( 40 seats) on December 15.

Chief election commissioner O. P. Rawat announced the voting dates at a press conference on Saturday, immediately bringing in force the model code of conduct.

Assembly elections in the three states in the Hindi heartland will decide the fate of the BJP’s three popular chief ministers: Chhattisgarh’s Raman Singh, Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the party’s only woman chief minister, Vasundhara Raje.

Setting the tone for parliamentary elections in May 2019, the outcome of the clash in these three BJP- run states will also reflect if the Congress, which is the main and direct rival of the BJP in these states, has managed to counter the saffron party’s development plank and dent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal through its vitriolic attack