GUWAHATI, Feb 26: The Election Commission of India today announced that elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, 2021.
Announcing the schedule for Assam, chief election commissioner (CEC), Sunil Arora said that 47 constituencies in Assam would go to the first phase polls on March 27.
“In the second phase, 39 constituencies will go to the polls on April 1 while 40 constituencies will go to the elections in the third phase on April 6. The date of counting of votes will be held on May 2, 2021,” he said.
Arora said that the Model Code of Conduct “shall come into force with the announcement of the elections.”
“The date for notification for the first phase is March 2; the last date of filing of nomination by the candidates is March 9, while the last date for withdrawal of nomination is March 12,” he said.
“The date for issue of notification for the second phase is March 5; last date of filing of nominations by the candidates is March 12, while the last date for withdrawal of nomination is March 17. Likewise, the issue of notification for the third phase is March 12; the last date of filing of nomination by the candidates is March 19, while the last date for withdrawal of nomination is March 22,” the CEC said.
Arrangements will be in place for candidates to file nominations online as well.
Arora said the EC has taken into account all festivals during the poll process including Bihu.
“The term of the current Assam Assembly expires on May 31, 2021 and the poll process in the state has to be completed by that date,” he said.
Of the total 126 Assembly seats in Assam, eight are reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and 16 for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
“This year, the number of polling stations in Assam is 33,530 polling stations, an increase of 34.71 per cent over the last elections in 2016,” Arora said.
The CEC further announced that the polling time has been increased by one hour (in view of the pandemic protocols) and that the decision has been taken by the chief electoral officer in consultation with the deputy commissioners.
“All poll officers will be vaccinated before the polls and all polling stations will follow the necessary COVID protocols,” he said.
In regard to procedures for the campaigns, the CEC further said that door-to-door campaigning would be restricted to five persons, including candidate while COVID norms would be mandatory for the road shows
“Adequate CAPF (central armed police forces) deployment will be ensured for assembly polls; critical, vulnerable areas identified and advance teams already deployed. Webcasting arrangements will be in place at polling stations in the critical and vulnerable areas,” he said.