India: Dates for 5 state assembly elections set

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI, India (AA) – India’s electoral authority Wednesday announced dates for local assembly elections in five Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and the home to 200 million people.

The votes will be a sounding board for reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial elimination of high-denomination banknotes.

The state assembly elections, held every five years, are important as assembly members elect the upper house of India’s parliament.

Polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases from Feb. 11 to March 8, and two phases in Manipur. Votes in the remaining states – Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand – will be single phase. Vote counting will take place on March 11 in all five states.

Nasim Zaidi, the chief election commissioner, told reporters, “690 legislative assembly members will face polls in all five states. 160 million voters will participate in the election.”

He added that they will strictly block vote solicitation through illegal incentives such as money, cash, liquor, or gifts, and also fight the use of paid news articles to benefit one party or another, a common practice during Indian elections.

Political parties have been asked to file account statements within 30 days of poll results. Instructions have been issued to monitor TV channels owned by political parties and candidates.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) also announced ceilings for campaign expenditures: 2.8 million rupees (Rs, around $41,000) for candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, and Rs 2 million (around $30,000) in Manipur and Goa.

The central government has tight security arrangements planned, with some 85,000 security personnel deployed in the five states. State Armed Police Forces and Indian Reserve Battalions will also be deployed.