Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the dates for polling in 5 states, in what is seen as the final leg before next year's Lok Sabha Elections.
The date of polling in Mizoram will be November 7, while Chhattisgarh will see votes cast in two phases, the first phase coinciding with Mizoram's polling day. The second phase of voting in the state will be on November 17.
Voting in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17, while in Rajasthan and Telangana, it will be take place on November 25* and 30 respectively.
Schedule for upcoming Assembly polls.
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The Rajasthan Assembly polling date was later revised, to be held on November 25.
Counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3, announced Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Addressing the media, the CEC said, "In 40 days, we visited all 5 states and held discussions with political parties, as well as with Central and state enforcement agencies".
He also mentioned that the total number of voters in all the 5 states is 16.1 crore.
Mizoram ranks lowest in terms of the total number of voters with 8.52 lakh, while Madhya Pradesh ranks the highest with 5.6 crore voters.
Chhattisgarh meanwhile, has 2.03 crore voters, Rajasthan has 5.25 crore, and Telangana has 3.17 crore.
Kumar also said that over 60 lakh youths will cast vote for the first time in these states, and to inspire the young voters, over 2,900 polling stations will be managed by youth.
There will be a total of 1.77 lakh polling stations, with 1.1 lakh stations having web-casting facilities.
The ECI is also setting up new booths in remote and inaccessible areas to facilitate voter participation. New booths will be set up in desert areas of Barmer, Rajasthan and on Tulsi Dongri Hill on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
* The polling date for Rajasthan Assembly elections was revised, now to be held on November 25.