AMN / NEW DELHI
The Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will also be held along with the Lok Sabha elections which will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19.
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will go to vote on April 11. Elections in Odisha will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.
This is the technically the first time since Telangana was carved out that Andhra Pradesh will have parliamentary polls. The state has 25 parliament and 175 assembly seats.
The tenure of the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will expire on 18.06.2019, 01.06.2019, 11.06.2019 and 27.05.2019 respectively.
After taking into account all relevant factors, the Commission has decided to hold elections for new Legislative Assemblies for these four States, simultaneously with the General Elections to the 17th Lok Sabha. Elections to the different Assembly Constituencies in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will follow the same Schedule as for the corresponding Parliamentary Constituencies of which these are the relevant Assembly segments.
The Chief Election Commissioner said simultaneous assembly elections will not be held in Jammu and Kashmir. He informed that EC has decided to appoint three special observers for the state for effective monitoring.
Mr Arora said the decision has been taken based on the input, constraint of availability of central forces and other logistics, requirement of forces for the security of candidates in wake of recent violence and other challenges.
BYE ELECTIONS TO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES:
There are 34 casual vacancies in Legislative Assemblies of 12 States, as on 09.03.2019. In regard to provisions of Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Commission has decided to hold bye-elections to these 34 Assembly Constituencies following the same schedule as for the relevant Parliamentary Constituency.
The first phase of general elections will be held on the 11th of next month, the second phase on 18th April, and third on 23rd April.
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held on 29th of April, fifth phase on 6th of May, sixth phase on 12th of May. 19th May is the date for the 7th and last phase of polling.
The counting will be held on 23rd of May.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the poll schedule in New Delhi on Sunday evening.
Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura will go to polls in two phases.
States undergoing three phases are Assam and Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha will have four phase polling.
Jammu and Kashmir will have five phases and West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will have seven phases.
Twenty-two states and Union Territories will have single phase elections.
These are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, and Uttarakhand.
In the first phase, 91 Parliamentary constituencies in 20 states will go to polls whereas in the 2nd phase, 97 Parliamentary constituencies in 13 states will go to polls.
115 constituencies in 14 states will go to polls in the third phase and 71 constituencies in 9 states will go to polls in 4th phase. In the 5th phase, 51 constituencies in seven states will go to polls whereas 59 seats in 7 states will go to polls in sixth phase.
In the last phase, 59 constituencies in 8 states will go to polls.
The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the entire country with the announcement of the poll schedule.
The Chief Election Commissioner said assessment meetings with states and Union Territories were held in January. He said extensive preparations have been made for the 17th Lok Sabha polls.