The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced that assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh would be held in seven phases starting from 10 February with the counting of votes scheduled for 10 March. Also going to polls are Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
Voting in Uttar Pradesh Pradesh will be held in seven phases on 10 February, 14 February, 20 February, 23 February, 27 February, 3 March and 7 March.
Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will see polls in one phase on 14 February. Manipur will see voting in two phases on 27 February and 3 March.
The counting of votes will take place on 10 March. This effectively means that Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand will have to wait for the results nearly one month after they have cast their votes.
Uttar Pradesh has 403 seats, Punjab 117, Uttarakhand 70, Manipur 60 and Goa 40.
The decision to hold assembly polls has been taken amidst rising cases of coronavirus. India is witnessing a spike in omicron variant cases. However, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that all physical election rallies, roadshows, and meetings had been banned till 15 January.
The poll body has also banned election rallies between 8 PM and 8 AM.