New Delhi: Haryana is set to vote in a single phase on October 1 to elect a new State Government, the Election Commission announced on Friday. The results for the Haryana Assembly elections will be declared on October 4.
A total of 20,629 polling stations — including 7,132 urban and 13,497 rural — will be set up for over 2 crore voters, said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Booths will be set up in multi-storied buildings as well in urban areas in Gurugram, Sonepat and Faridabad.
There are 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly, including 73 General and 17 Scheduled Castes (SC) seats. As many as 10,321 centenarian voters will also be part of the democratic process.
The Gazette notification for the elections will be issued on September 5. September 12 will be the last date for making nominations, September 13 the last date for scrutiny and September 16 the last date for withdrawal of candidatures.
“We are ready to hold inclusive and accessible elections,” declared Mr Kumar.
The term of the current Assembly ends on November 3. Election officials had recently visited Haryana to oversee the poll preparedness.
Hours ahead of the likely announcement, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini released the first instalment of a bonus for over 5.20 lakh farmers in the state. The Rs 2,000 per acre bonus for Kharif crops was released in view of a rain deficit this year. He also announced veterinary polyclinics in eight districts and Rs 3 lakh insurance cover for dairy farmers earning less than Rs 3 lakh annually.
An announcement of election marks the beginning of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), during which the government can’t announce any major policy or scheme. This period lasts till the counting of votes.
In 2019, the BJP had won 40 seats and formed the government with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP (10 seats). But the alliance ended earlier this year with a change of guard in the BJP as Saini replaced ML Khattar as the Chief Minister. The Congress ended up in the opposition with 31 seats.
Elections are also due in Maharashtra this year end, but the schedule has not been announced yet.
