The Election Commission may announce the dates for the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh later today. The national poll body is also likely to declare the dates for elections in Telangana, where the assembly was dissolved recently.
The model code of conduct will kick in as soon as the announcement by the election commission is made. This means that the state governments will not be able to make any announcement benefiting the voters until the new government is formed after the polls.
BJP is currently in government in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while the TRS governed Telangana since the state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Political parties have already started their campaign in the poll-bound states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be in Ajmer on Saturday to address a rally. Both BJP President Amit Shah and Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be in Madhya Pradesh later today. While Shah is likely to launch the BJP’s mass contact campaign in the crucial Malwa-Nimad region of Madhya Pradesh to woo voters especially traders, tribals and farmers, Rahul will attend an event organised by a tribal organisation and also address a public meeting.
Stakes have become incredibly high for the upcoming assembly elections since this will be last major electoral exercise before the next year’s Lok Sabha polls, when Modi will be seeking re-election as prime minister.
BSP Supremeo Mayawati had last week dropped a bombshell by announcing that she will contest the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh without an alliance with the Congress party. Mayawati’s party had contested on over 220 seats in 2013 in Madhya Pradesh but could only win four seats securing little over 6% vote share.