EC Announces Date For Himachal Polls, To Keep Track Of Cash Movement From Borders, Airports. Key Points

The term of the Gujarat Assembly will end on February 18 and that of Himachal Pradesh on January 8 next year.

The Himachal polls will be held in a single phase on November 12

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced the date for the upcoming assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh. The announcement was made by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh, with 68 seats, will be held in a single phase on November 12. The last date to file the nomination is October 25 and the counting of votes will be held on December 8. However, there was no announcement on the Gujarat elections, that has 182 assembly seats.

It is to be noted that the term of the Gujarat Assembly will end on February 18 and that of Himachal Pradesh on January 8 next year.

Notably, in 2017, the BJP won 99 seats in Gujarat and the Congress 77. In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won 44 seats and Congress 21. In 2017, BJP won 48.79 per cent vote share, whereas Congress won 41.46 per cent.

Here are the key points from the ECI presser:

• In the assembly elections, focus would be on new voters, women, people with disabilities (PwD), and third gender voters. Young people will get four chances in a year to enrol as a voter instead of a single qualifying date. Advance Application Facility will also be available for those above 17 years.
• In a bid to boost voter turnout, officials have been asked to identify lowest percentage voting booths.
• Every polling station would have a ramp, drinking water, electricity, shade, and volunteers for voters with disabilities and every polling station would be on the ground floor.
• Every Assembly will have at least one or more all-women operated polling stations, and at least one polling station would be managed by PwDs.
• There would be provision of postal ballot for absentee voters under form 12D for senior citizens above 80 years of age, voters with disabilities, and Covid-19 positive persons. Volunteers will visit the houses of such absentee voters and the entire process will be videographed to ensure transparency.
• There would be cVigil App for grievance redressal with response within 100 minutes and PwD App for new registration, migration, correction in EPIC details and request for a wheelchair. ‘KYC portal’ will be available for voters to know about the candidates contesting the election and ‘Suvidha portal’ for candidates to file nominations and affidavits and seek permission for rallies and meetings.
• The ECI further said that in order to ensure there is no distribution of any kind of inducement to voters, there would be no cash movement in poll-bound states between 5 pm to 5 am, GST will look at e-way and goods going to the poll-bound and neighbouring states. Airports will also keep a strict watch so that no unscheduled flight goes unchecked.
• CEC Rajiv Kumar said that consultations are underway about party manifestos and any election promise must be explained on how that is feasible.
• He further said that social media will be monitored constantly and any fake news would be acted upon immediately. Penal actions can be taken too, he said.