By-polls for 64 assembly seats across 18 states will be held on October 21

The election Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in all the polling stations and for this adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been kept ready.

The election Commission of India on Saturday announced dates for assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and by-elections on 64 seats in 18 states. All elections will be held on October 21 and results will be declared on October 24. The model code of conduct kicks in from today.

The 64 seats on which by-polls are to be held are spread over Bihar (5 assembly seats and 1 Lok Sabha), Arunachal Pradesh (1), Chhattisgarh (1), Assam (4), Gujarat (4), Himachal Pradesh (2), Karnataka (15), Kerala (5), MP (1), Meghalaya (1), Odisha (1), Puducherry (1), Punjab (4), Rajasthan (2), Sikkim (3), Tamil Nadu (2), Telangana (1) and Uttar Pradesh (11).

The gazette notification for these polls will be issued on September 23, last date of nominations is September 30, date for scrutiny of nominations will be done on October 1, Candidatures can be withdrawn up to October 3.

The Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in all the polling stations and for this adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been kept ready. As is the practice, voters will need to carry valid identity cards. Electoral Photo Identity cards (EPIC) shall be the main document of identification. However, separate instructions will be issued to allow additional documents for identification of voters.

Assembly polls

Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will also be held on October 21 and the results will be declared October 24. The term of the Haryana assembly ends on November 2 while that of the Maharashtra assembly’s ends on November 9. While the BJP is in power in Haryana, it rules Maharashtra in coalition with the Shiv Sena.

Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said that the notification for the polls will be made on September 27. The last date of filing nominations is October 4. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7.