The dates for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur can be announced soon. In view of this, the Election Commission will start visiting these states from Wednesday.
The commission’s tour is starting from Punjab. Before the announcement of the election dates, the members of the commission will examine the preparations to be done in this regard here.
Preparation for UP too
After this, the next visit of the Election Commission will be to Goa. According to the Times of India, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anoop Chandra Pandey are likely to visit Goa next week and then to Uttarakhand. However, the dates of the Election Commission’s visit to Uttar Pradesh are yet to be decided. But there is a possibility that the commission can come here anytime after the Uttarakhand tour.
Waiting for roll publication
There are indications that the commission may announce the election dates as early as January 2022. The Election Commission has given January 1 as the date for publication of the rolls to five states. Some states have said to publish the revised roll by January 1, while it is estimated that Uttar Pradesh will publish it by January 5. Usually, the commission waits for the revised rolls before declaring the election dates, but it is not mandatory.
Elections in UP in 6 to 8 phases
Based on the indications currently being received, elections can be held in February. Whereas in Uttar Pradesh it can be done in 6 to 8 phases. Elections can go on for about a month. Significantly, in all the five electoral states, the term of the assembly ends from March 15 to May 14 next year. In such a situation, it will be the effort of the commission that by March 15, 2022, the elections should be completed in all the states. By the way, according to the law, the Election Commission can hold elections at any time up to six months before the end of the term of the assembly.
The commission collects many information
Before the announcement of the election dates, the commission visits the respective states and collects various types of information from the administration. In this, concerns are heard regarding local festivals, weather conditions, crop rotation, law and order conditions, the need for central forces accordingly, corona protocols and election of political parties. After this, information about the presence of central forces is taken by sitting with the top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs. All this deliberation helps the commission in deciding the dates as well as in deciding how many phases the elections will be held.