The Election Commission of India (ECI), on October 9, announced the schedule for assembly polls in five states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram. The announcement included information on the electoral process dates for all five states, including nomination filing, polling days, and result declaration.
At a news conference, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar declared, “Election Commission has given special emphasis on making electoral rolls inclusive; focus will be on roll-to-poll conversion”.
Before that, on October 6, the Election Commission convened a meeting of observers to devise a strategy for conducting the elections smoothly. The ECI met with all stakeholders, including political parties and law enforcement authorities. Their police, general, and expenditure observers met to simplify tactics to ensure Model Code of Conduct implementation and that money does not impact the level playing field.
States and Their Voting Schedule 2023
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Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is currently having a Congress Government led by Bhupesh Baghel. The election in Chhattisgarh will be held in two stages, with the first on November 7. The second stage will take place on November 17.
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Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh has a Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government. It will hold legislative elections on November 17.
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Mizoram
The Mizo National Front (MNF), a BJP ally, leads the state. Its legislative elections will be held on November 7.
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Rajasthan
The state of Rajasthan is governed by the Congress party, with Ashok Gehlot as the chief minister. Rajasthan will go to polls on November 25.
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Telangana
Telangana is governed by the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) under the leadership of K. Chandrasekhar Rao. It will have its legislative elections on November 30.
Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly terms are due to finish on various dates in January 2024, while the Mizoram Legislative Assembly’s term will end on December 17 this year.
Date of counting votes
According to Kumar at the same conference, counting votes in all five states will occur on December 3.
This year’s Assembly elections will be essential because they will determine the public’s attitude in the run-up to the general elections in 2024. ECI also told the press that the Election Seizure Management System is being introduced for five assembly polls to enhance oversight for inducement-free elections. There will be zero tolerance for using money power and stringent monitoring of questionable online currency transactions via wallets.
