The Election Commission (EC) has announced the election dates for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The Assembly elections in both the states will be held on October 21, while the counting will be held on October 24. While the tenure of the 90-member Haryana Legislative Assembly expires on November 2, the term for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly ends on November 8. After the announcement of Assembly election dates, the Model Code of Conduct will now come into force, following which the current state governments will not be able to roll out last minute schemes.
Check all the latest updates on Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryanaon BusinessToday.In Live blog
12.33 PM: Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections schedule:
12.30 PM: Haryana & Maharashtra Assembly elections to be held on 21st October, counting on 24th October.
12.21 PM: "Election campaigns impose an environmental cost upon us. We appeal to political parties to avoid use of plastic and use only environment-friendly material in their campaigns," says Sunil Arora.
12.18 PM: Special security arrangements will be made for LWE affected areas in Gadchiroli and Gondia in Maharashtra: ECI
12.17 PM: This year, the Congress has formed an alliance with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party against the ruling alliance of BJP-Shiv Sena.
12.15 PM: Haryana has 1.82 crore registered voters and Maharashtra has 8.94 crore voters: ECI
12.13 PM: Crucial states for the BJP
The Assembly elections in these two states are politically significant as the BJP is in power in both Maharashtra and Haryana. In 2014, the elections in Maharashtra and Haryana took place in October.
12.11 PM: The expenditure ceiling for all the candidates in both the states will be Rs 25 lakh, says Sunil Arora.
12.09 PM: These Assembly polls will be commenced as the first set of assembly elections after the Lok Sabha polls in May 2019, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won with a thumping majority.
12.07 PM: Watch press conference by the Election Commission of India.
12.05 PM: The five-year term of the Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra November 2 and November 9, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.
12.00 PM: TheElection Commision starts media briefing on Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections.