Local body polls in 4 phases in June-July

With the announcement,the model code of conduct has come into effect.

The SEC did not announce elections in Kannauj,Ramabai Nagar and Auraiya district. A Lok Sabha byelection is scheduled on June 24 in Kannauj constituency,which includes parts of Auraiya and Ramabai Nagar. Elections for these three districts will be notified after completing the poll process in the rest of the state.

State Election Commissioner S K Agrawal said in the first phase,the district electoral officers (DEOs) of 18 districts will notify elections on May 26. The last date of making nominations will be June 2,scrutiny will be held on June 5,withdrawals will be allowed till June 7,symbols allotted on June 8,and polling will be on June 24.

In the second phase,elections of 17 districts will be notified on May 30. The last date of making nominations is June 6,scrutiny of nominations will be held on June 7,withdrawals will be allowed till June 11,and polling will be on June 27.

In the third phase,notification for election in 20 districts will be issued on June 3,the last date of making nominations is June 11,scrutiny of nominations will be held on June 12,withdrawals will be allowed till June 14,and polling will be on July 1.

In the fourth,notification for election in 17 districts will be issued on June 6,the last date of making nominations is June 13,scrutiny of nominations will be held on June 14,withdrawals will be allowed till June 16,and polling will be on July 4.

Counting of votes of all four phases will be held on July 7.

Election in municipal corporations of Meerut,Moradabad,Lucknow and Varanasi will be in the first phase. In Bareilly,Agra,Kanpur Nagar,Allahabad and Gorakhpur municipal corporations,polling will be in the second phase. The Aligarh Municipal Corporation will go for polls in the third phase. Ghaziabad and Jhansi municipal corporations will go for polls in the fourth phase.

The elections of nagarpalika parishads and nagar panchayats in Saharanpur district will be held in the first phase while poll programme of its municipal corporation would be announced later as updation of electoral roll is yet to be completed.

In view of the hot weather,the SEC has extended the polling time by one hour. In Bundelkhand region and Naxal-affected districts of Chandauli,Sonbhadra,Mirzapur,polling will start at 6.30 am and conclude at 5.30 pm. In other districts,polling will start at 7 am and end at 6 pm. There are 3.02 crore voters enrolled in SEC’s electoral roll.

For monitoring election expenditure,the SEC has decided that every candidate will have to open a separate bank account and make all poll related expenses from this account.