New Delhi: The assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 15 while the counting of votes will take place on October 19.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath , who today announced the schedule of upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, said the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately.
"The notification will be issued on 20.09.2014, which is Saturday. The last date for filing nominations will be 27.09.2014. Scrutiny will be on 29th September. The last date for withdrawal will be 1st October and the date of poll will be on 15th October for both (states) and the counting on 19th October," he said.
Brahma further said the bye-election in Beed Parliamentary constituency will also be held along with elections to the assembly constituencies in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The Chief Election Commissioner informed that Haryana has 16,244 polling stations while Maharashtra has 90, 403 polling stations.
"Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the poll in these elections also. In addition to EVMs to the extent available, VVPATS (Voter-verified paper audit trail) will also be used," he said.
Sampath said the term of Haryana Assembly expires by 27th October while the term of Maharashtra Assembly expires by November 8.
"Under law, the Election Commission is required to hold elections to constitute the new legislative assemblies before expiry of their present term," said Sampath.
" Haryana has 90 assembly constituencies in which 27 are reserved for SCs and none for STs. In Maharashtra, 288 total number of constituencies, 29 are reserved for SCs and 25 for STs," he added.
Sampath said the Election Commission of India has made provision for 'None of The Above' (NOTA) in EVMs as per the orders of Supreme Court.
"So, None Of The Above option that will be made available in all the electronic voting machines in these elections also," he added.
The Chief Election Commissioner further said elaborate arrangements and various measures have been made for securing the requisite forces to ensure free and fair polls.
