EC Wants to Finish UP Election by 15 March, Seven Phases Likely

According to inside sources, finalisation of work is in progress and the EC has completed tours of the states.

When will Uttar Pradesh witness the Assembly election? From political parties to voters, everyone has been waiting for the announcement of poll dates.

According to highly placed sources in the Election Commission (EC), the Assembly election will take place between February and March. The EC will most likely make the announcement at the end of the month.

While speaking to Quint Hindi, a senior official in the EC said, “We hope to finish the whole process of the Assembly election by 15 March.”

Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are also expected to conduct their Assembly elections alongside Uttar Pradesh next year.

Of these:

• Goa, Manipur and Punjab Assembly elections will get over by 18 March.
• Uttarakhand assembly elections will end by 26 March.
• The current UP government's term ends on 27 May.

The EC could postpone the UP elections until April, but the question remains, why would the commission do so?

April Elections Speculated

The UP elections will be a litmus test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is the first election scheduled after the announcement of demonetisation on 8 November. Last week, a high-level meeting of top RSS leaders and BJP allies warned the party that the country is furious over the shortage of cash and this may affect results of the UP elections. They suggested that the Centre either fill the banks and ATMs with enough cash or postpone the election.

This led to speculations that the elections may be moved to April. However, the EC said that the dates for elections will not be decided according to the convenience of the Centre or political parties.

Preparations Are in the Final Stage

On 16 December, Home Secretary Rajiv Maharshi held a meeting with election commissioners in the EC office. This will be the final meeting between the Centre and the EC before the announcement of final dates.

According to inside sources, finalisation of work is in full-swing. The election commission teams have completed tours of the states.

• The list of sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling booths is being prepared.
• The states have sought assistance from the paramilitary forces.
• Measures are being taken to curb bogus voting.
• The ED is making special arrangements with the I-T department to curb black money.
• The State Education Board will announce the dates for exams after receiving directive from the EC.

The Election Furore Has Begun

Major political parties have started their campaigns in full force as star campaigners like Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Mayawati are conducting hectic rallies all over the state. UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav can also been praising the Samajwadi Party (SP) government’s development agenda.

While speaking to Quint Hindi, a senior BJP MP said,

Demonetisation is fine, but according to the season, the month of February is tailor-made for us. April is a hot month and our supporters do not come out to vote in full capacity, while voters of BSP and SP come out in huge numbers.

The 2012 Assembly elections were conducted in seven phases. According to sources, keeping in mind the geographical conditions and security concerns, this time too, the election will be divided into seven phases. It could start from the 1st week of February and extend till the 1st week of March.