Election Time

The Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram will be held between November 14 and December 4, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
No decision has been taken on holding the polls in Jammu and Kashmir. In Chhattisgarh, polling will be held in two phases on November 14 and 20 and in the other States it will be a one-day exercise. Flanked by Election Commissioners Naveen Chawla and S. Y. Qureshi, Mr. Gopalaswami said: “The Model Code of Conduct will come into effect immediately. It will apply to the whole of the five States and will be applicable to all candidates, political parties, the State Governments and the Union Government from today [Tuesday] itself.”
The Commission said: “There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, churches, temples or other places of worship shall not be used as a forum for election propaganda.” It has issued guidelines for video coverage of all critical events during the election process and polling at all vulnerable booths. Digital cameras will also be deployed inside the booths wherever needed. Identification of voters at the booths at the time of polling is mandatory. At present, the EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) coverage in Chhattisgarh is 64.51 per cent; in Madhya Pradesh 85 per cent; in Mizoram 91 per cent, in Rajasthan 84.63 per cent and in Delhi 80 per cent. Electronic voting machines will be used at all polling stations.