New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the assembly elections date for the three North-Eastern states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura. While Tripura will go to polls on February 16, elections in Meghalaya and Nagaland will take place on February 27, noted Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The counting for all three states will be done on March 2.
Observing that the Model Code of Conduct would hereby come into effect, the CEC further said that last date of filing nominations in Tripura is January 30, while the same for Meghalaya and Nagaland is February 7. A total of 73 percent of more than 9,000 polling stations across these three states will be webcasted, he also noted.
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"Due to school examinations due in March, the Election Commission has taken the conscious decision to finish polls by February, so as to not disturb school children. It is also to be noted that no polling stations would be set up in any CBSE school" Kumar said. The tenure of assemblies in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura will come to end respectively on March 12, 15 and 22.
There are more than 62.8 lakh electors in the three states, including 31.47 lakh female voters, 97,000 plus voters who are 80+ years of age, and 31,700 Persons with Disabilities. Further observing that all three states have terrain-related challenges, the CEC stated that the commission was dedicated to conducting 'free-and-fair' polls while also ensuring that there are no electoral irregularities or incidents of violence.
