Election Commission announces poll schedule for Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. LIVE UPDATES here

Update at 3:31 PM: Counting of votes to commence from 11th December 2018

Update at 3:27 PM: Telangana poll dates:

• Single phase: 7th December

Update at 3:27 PM: Rajasthan poll dates:

• Single phase: 7th December

Update at 3:27 PM: Mizoram poll dates: 

• Single phase: 28th November

Update at 3:27 PM: Madhya Pradesh poll dates: 

• Single phase: 28th November

Update at 3:19 PM: Chhattisgarh Poll dates:

• Phase 1: 12th November 
• Phase 2: 20th November

Update at 3:19 PM: Election Commissioner OP Rawat on the model code of conduct

Model of conduct to come into force in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram with immediate effect

Update at 3:19 PM: Election Commissioner OP Rawat on changes in the nomination procedure

Changes in nomination procedure and advertisements according to Supreme Court order to check criminalization of politics. 

Update at 3:19 PM: Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Voters’ assistance booths:

Voters’ assistance booths to be set up by EC. We will have all women polling stations where even security personnel will be women. VVPATs to remain. Mock polls to be conducted before the start of every poll.

Update at 3:14 PM: Elections in Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan, Mizoram have to be conducted before December 15

Update at 3:10 PM: Election Commissioner OP Rawat on expiry dates:

• Mizoram’s 50-member House expires on December 15, 2018
• Chhattisgarh’s Assembly, comprising 90 members, ends on January 5, 2019
• The tenure of the Madhya Pradesh 230-member House expires on January 7, 2019
• The 200-member Rajasthan House expires on January 20, 2019

Update at 3:08 PM: Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Telangana polls:

We will not be announcing the dates for Telangana yet because a case related to the electoral poll is pending in Supreme Court. The dates for the state will be announced after 12 October 2018. 

Update at 3:01 PM: EC chairman apologises for changing the time of press conference, clarifies compulsion that led to it.

ECI chairman clarifies that certain compulsion forced the commission to change the timing of the press conference to announce the election dates earlier in the day. The chairman declines to make any comment on Congress allegations against the Commission. 

The Election Commission is all set to announce the poll schedules for the states of Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Saturday. The commission has convened a press conference which will commence at 3 pm. It will also most likely announce the poll schedule for Telangana. The model code of conduct will be in place as soon as the announcement is made by Election Commissioner OP Rawat.

Sources in the commission said that the entire election exercise will be completed by the first week of December. 

With the Election Commission expected to announce the dates for Assembly Elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh among other dates, political parties are gearing up.  

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While polls in Chhattisgarh are likely to be held in two phases, elections in the other states might see polling in one phase, they said.

Meanwhile, PM Modi addressed a Mega Rally in Rajasthan's Ajmer with CM Vasundhara Raje as a part of his electoral campaign in the poll-bound state on Saturday. With BJP President Amit Shah and Congress party President Rahul Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, the political parties are putting their best foot forward for the upcoming polls. In Rajasthan, 200 Lok Sabha seats are up for grabs in the upcoming general elections.

READ: PM Modi Sounds Poll Bugle In Rajasthan, Gears Up For His Rally In Ajmer. LIVE UPDATES Here

Earlier in 2014, out of the 200 seats, 163 seats came under the umbrella of  BJP, while 21 seats were won by the Congress party. In the political scenario of Madhya Pradesh, BJP won with a massive majority of 165 seats with the appointment of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Chief Minister of the state in 2014. Congress had won 58 seats in Madhya Pradesh in the last elections. In Chhattisgarh, BJP leader Raman Singh took the oath as the CM after BJP won 49 of 90 seats in the state, while Congress managed to win 39 seats. It will be interesting to see the developments in the upcoming polls.