Satff Reporters / AMN / WEB DESK
The electoral campaign has gained momentum for the first two phases of the Seven-Phase Assembly Elections in UP and for the Single-Phase polls in Goa and Uttarakhand. The Star Campaigners and prominent leaders of various political parties engaged in public rallies after finalization of the candidates for the first two phases. The door-to-door canvassing and virtual appeals to the voters also continue.
The political activities have already begun in other poll-bound states including Punjab and Manipur with the party leaders deliberating in marathon meetings to finalize their electoral strategies and formations even while giving shape to the lists of candidates.
During the First of Seven-Phase Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh, mostly multi-cornered contests are on cards and there are 623 candidates in fray for 58 seats included in this phase.
In the initial phase, 58 Assembly Constituencies including nine reserved for the Scheduled Castes in UP will go to polls on 10th of February. These constituencies are from eleven districts of Shamli (Prabuddh Nagar), Meerut, Hapur (Panchsheel Nagar), Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Mathura.
The Second Phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted on 14th of February in 55 Assembly Constituencies from nine districts including nine ACs reserved for the Scheduled Castes. They include Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha (J.P. Nagar), Moradabad, Bareilly, Rampur, Sambhal (Bhim Nagar), Budaun, and Shahjahanpur district. In addition, the Single-Phase polling in two states Goa and Uttarakhand will be held simultaneously. Forty seats in Goa and 70 seats in Uttarakhand will go to polls together in this phase.
Meanwhile, the process of filing nominations for a Fourth of the Seven- Phase of Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to close today while it is going on for the UP Fifth Phase along with the First Phase polling in Manipur. The filing of nominations for the Sixth Phase in UP as well as the Second and Last Phase polling in Manipur will begin with the issuance of notification tomorrow.
The Sixth Phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted on 3rd of March in 57 Assembly Constituencies from 10 districts including 11 ACs reserved for the Scheduled Castes. They include Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Ballia, Maharajganj, Kushinagar (Padrauna), Gorakhpur, and Deoria district. In addition, the Second and Last Phase polling in Manipur will be held simultaneously. Twenty-two seats in Manipur will go to polls in this phase.
During the UP Sixth Phase and the Second Phase polling in Manipur, the nominations can be filed till 11th and the scrutiny will be undertaken on 14th of February. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be 16th of February. Total 2,14,62,816 electors will be eligible to exercise their franchise during the Sixth Phase. They include 1,14,63,113 male, 99,98,383 female and 1,320 third gender voters.
In the Second Phase of Assembly Elections in Manipur, 22 seats spread over ten districts will go to polls out of which eleven seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. These districts include Thoubal, Kakching, Jiribam, Chandel, Tengnoupal, Kamjong, Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, and Money district. There are total 8,32,416 electors including 4,07,189 male, 4,25,192 female and 35 third gender voters.
Earlier, the picture of the electoral battle during the Second Phase of polls and the Single-Phase polls in Goa and Uttarakhand also became clear after the withdrawal of candidature. In Uttar Pradesh, 586 candidates are in the fray for 55 Assembly seats going to polls during this phase while 301 candidates are contesting for 40 seats in Goa and 632 candidates are vying for 70 seats in Uttarakhand.
The Third Phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted on 20th of February in 59 Assembly Constituencies from 16 districts including 15 ACs reserved for the Scheduled Castes. They include Hathras, Kanshiram Nagar (Kasganj), Etah, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi, and Lalitpur district. In addition, the Single-Phase polling in Punjab will be held simultaneously. All the 117 Assembly Constituencies in the state will go to polls together in this phase.
During the UP Third Phase and the Single-Phase polling in Punjab, 658 nominations were found valid during the scrutiny of nominations in Uttar Pradesh while the Punjab scrutiny results are still awaited. In all, 2,279 nominations were filed in Punjab. The candidature can be withdrawn by tomorrow.
The Fourth Phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted on 23rd of February in 59 Assembly Constituencies from nine districts including 16 ACs reserved for the Scheduled Castes. They include Pilibhit, Lakhimpur – Kheri, Sitapur, Lucknow, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Fatehpur, and Banda district.
During the UP Fourth Phase, the process of filing nominations for the Fourth Phase of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh is presently going on and 513 nominations were filed till the last evening. The nominations can be filed till this afternoon and the scrutiny will be undertaken tomorrow. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be 7th of February.
Meanwhile, The Fifth Phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted on 27th of February in 61 Assembly Constituencies from 12 districts including nine ACs reserved for the Scheduled Castes. They include Shravasti, Bahraich, Barabanki, Ayodhya, Amethi (Chatrapati Sahuji Mahraj Nagar), Raebareilly, Sultanpur, Gonda, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, and Chitrakoot district. In addition, the First of the Two-Phase polling in Manipur will be held simultaneously. Thirty-eight seats from six districts will go to polls out of which one seat is reserved for the Scheduled Castes and eight seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. These districts include Imphal East and West, Bishnupur, Pherzawl, Churchandpur, and Kangpokpi districts.
The process of filing nominations for the Fifth Phase of Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh and First of the Two-Phase polling in Manipur is also going on. In all, five nominations were filed in Uttar Pradesh while only one nomination was filed in Manipur for this phase. The nominations can be filed till 8th and the scrutiny will be undertaken on 9th of February. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be 11th of February.
In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and rising cases of Omicron variant across the country, the Election Commission has laid focus on COVID-safe elections with maximum participation. It is going to ensure the safety of vote and voters as both are equally and critically important in democracy.
The Election Commission has extended the ban on physical rallies and roadshows till 11th of February. After taking a comprehensive review of the prevailing situation with respect to status and projected trends of COVID pandemic in the five poll-bound states, the commission has decided to allow physical public meetings of Political parties or contesting candidates in designated open spaces with a maximum of one thousand persons or 50 percent of the capacity of the ground or the prescribed limit set by State Disaster Management Authorities, whichever is lesser, with effect from today for all phases.
The Commission has also enhanced the limit for door-to-door campaigns. Instead of 10 persons, now 20 persons, excluding security personnel, will be allowed for door-to-door campaigns. It has now granted relaxation for the political parties to the extent that indoor meetings of a maximum of 500 persons or 50 percent of the capacity of the hall or the prescribed limit set by SDMA is allowed.
The Election Commission has also allowed video vans for publicity with usual COVID restrictions at designated open spaces with a maximum of 500 viewers or 50 percent of the capacity or the limit set by SDMA, whichever is lesser, in the poll-going states subject to public convenience and no hindrance to smooth flow of traffic. The political parties and contesting candidates will have to ensure the compliance of COVID Appropriate Behaviour and guidelines and Model Code of Conduct at all occasions during the activities connected with elections. All concerned State and District Authorities will ensure full compliance with these instructions.
Political parties have been advised to conduct their campaign through digital mode as much as possible. If a candidate or political party violates any of the above guidelines, no further permission will be given to the concerned candidate or party for rallies or meetings.