Election Commission announces dates for five state assembly elections

On Saturday, the Election Commission announced the election dates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. The state assembly elections of these four states are being considered as the semi-final before grand finale of 2019 general elections. The results of these state assembly elections along with Telangana are expected to set the momentum for the 2019 general elections.

The Election Commissioner, OP Rawat, announced that simultaneous election will be held in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Mizoram, before 15th December. Model code of conduct will come into force in all the four states with effect from today.

Single phase elections will be conducted in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram on November 28.

Rajasthan and Telangana assembly elections will be held on 7th December. Telangana state cabinet was dissolved by the ruling TRS chief Minister KCR. He was already preparing for the early elections. Immediately after the dissolution of the state assembly, KCR had released a list of 105 candidates for the state’s 119 assembly seats of the state.

Counting of votes will be done on 11 December for all the five states.

The Chief Election Commissioner also announced By-polls date for Shimoga, Bellary and Mandya in Karnataka. It will be held on 3rd November. While Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are ruled by the BJP, Mizoram is ruled by the Congress.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi addressed a large rally in Rajasthan’s Ajmer with the incumbent Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as part of the electoral campaign on Saturday. The Party President Amit Shah was holding the fort in Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, from the Congress, Rahul Gandhi is currently campaigning in Madhya Pradesh. Both the parties have prepared to give their best for the upcoming state assembly polls. A lot is at the stake. All these states are very crucial from an electoral point of view. Whatever will happen in these states will have its reverberations on the 2019 general elections as well. It will be interesting to see all the electoral and political developments in the state.

However, Congress is on the backfoot even before taking to the crease. Today itself, Akhilesh Yadav announced that he will not be fighting the elections as an ally of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. Given the bonhomie that Akhilesh and Rahul claim to share, this must have come as a rude shock for the Congress. Akhilesh is not the only one who is treating an alliance with Congress as a liability. Maywati had already ruled out any prospects of alliance with Congress in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. Ahead of the crucial state elections, the lack of allies will severely affect the chances of Congress.