Assembly polls in Maharashtra to be held on October 21

This picture has been used for representational purpose

New Delhi: Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 21, the Election Commission announced on Saturday. Counting of votes in both the states will be held on October 24, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said at a press conference. While the term of 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9, that of the 90-member Haryana assembly expires on November 2.

Earlier, the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee had urged masses to pitch in ideas for its manifesto for the elections. The BJP came to power in the state in the last Assembly elections. On the other hand, in Maharashtra, the BJP and Shiv Sena contested 2014 state Assembly elections separately after they failed to arrive at a seat-sharing formula. However, they formed the government in the alliance after the elections as none of the parties was able to secure a majority on its own.

The five-year term of the Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra will expire on November 2 and November 9, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. "Election campaigns impose an environmental cost upon us. We appeal to political parties to avoid the use of plastic and use only environment-friendly material in their campaigns," he said.

He further shared that on demand of several political parties in Maharashtra, more than 5,000 polling booths, which were on the first or second-floor level have been brought to the ground level. Moreover, special security arrangements have been made for LWE affected areas in Gadchiroli and Gondia in Maharashtra. Arora said that the expenditure limit will be Rs 28 lakh in both the states.

With inputs from ANI

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