Guwahati, March 7: Elections to four Rajya Sabha seats in three Northeastern states – Assam, Tripura and Nagaland – will be held on March 31, 2022, the Election Commission of India announced on Monday.
The polling hours have been scheduled from 9am to 4pm. Counting of votes will take place at 5pm on March 31, 2022.
Along with the elections to four seats in the region, including two in Assam and one each in Tripura and Nagaland, the polls will also be held across nine other Rajya Sabha seats – five in Punjab, three in Kerala and one in Himachal Pradesh.
The retiring members from the region are Ranee Narah and Ripun Bora from Assam, K.G. Kenye from Nagaland and Jharna Das (Baidya) from Tripura.
“Notifications will be issued on March 14, 2022 while the last date of making nominations will be March 21, 2022. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 22, 2022,” a statement to the media from ECI on Monday said.
The last date for withdrawal of candidatures has been scheduled on March 24, 2022
“The Commission has directed that for the purpose of marking preference(s) on the ballot paper only integrated violet colour sketch pen(s) of pre-fixed specification, provided by the returning officer, shall be used. No other pen shall, under any circumstances, be used in the elections,” the statement said.
The ECI further stated that adequate measures for close monitoring of the election process by appointing observers shall be taken to ensure free and fair elections.
“The Commission has directed the chief secretaries concerned to depute a senior officer from the state to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections,” the statement said.
