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State to vote on Feb 27, code of conduct kicks in

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NEW DELHI/SHILLONG: Ending days of uncertainty and speculations, the Election Commission on Thursday announced two-phased assembly polls in Meghalaya, Nagaland  and  Tripura on February 27 and 18 respectively, with counting for all three states on March 3.
Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti, who was flanked by election commissioners OP Rawat and Sunil Arora at the media briefing in New Delhi, announced polls in the three states whose Assembly tenures end in March. After this, the only other north-eastern state to go to polls will be Mizoram where elections have been scheduled to be held at the end of the year.
While Tripura goes to polls in the first phase on February 18, voters in Meghalaya and Nagaland will cast their franchise on February 27.
In Meghalaya, the date of issue of the gazette notification is January 31, last date for filing of nominations is February 7, the date for scrutiny of nominations is February 8, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is February 12.
The model code of conduct shall immediately come into effect in the three states, informed the CEC. Though some Lok Sabha bypolls are also due – in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in UP, Araria in Bihar and Anantnag in J&K – the schedule for the same is yet to be announced.
Addressing reporters in Shillong on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect and the provisions of the model code will be applicable to all candidates, political parties and the state government.
The provisions shall also be applicable to the Union government insofar as announcements/policy decisions pertaining to the poll-bound states are concerned.
The Commission issued instructions for swift, effective and stringent action for enforcement of the model code during the first 72 hours after announcement of the poll schedule and also for maintaining extra vigilance in the last 72 hours prior to the close of polls.
“These instructions have been issued in the form of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for compliance by the field election machinery, that is the district election officers and the respective returning officers in our state,” said Kharkongor.
The ceiling of election expenses for the Assembly constituencies is Rs 20 lakh per candidate for Meghalaya, he informed. The candidates are required to furnish their accounts of expenditure within 30 days of declaration of results.
There would be 100 per cent deployment of voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) units in all the three states. Also, VVPAT results will be tallied in one polling station each of every constituency of the poll-bound states.
Buoyed by its recent victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and having formed its first government in Assam in 2016, the BJP is looking at expanding its base in the north-eastern states.
For the Congress, which is in power in Meghalaya, the electoral battle in the three states will be a challenge given its fading profile in the region. The party is in power only in Meghalaya and has been reduced to the third position in the other two states.
The real fight to watch out for would be in Tripura where the Left has been in power for long and continues to have an upper hand. In Nagaland, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland and BJP are in a coalition government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched BJP’s poll campaign from Meghalaya, inaugurating a road project and committing an investment of Rs 90,000 crore in the next two to three years for building roads and highways in the north-east. His meeting was followed by BJP President Amit Shah’s visit to the state.
With the announcement of the polls, the All India Congress Committee suddenly swung into action since it had not even finalised the candidates for the 60 seats in Meghalaya where it is in power. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma who was in New Delhi left for his home state after the announcement of polls.

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