Telangana Elections ECI opens nominations of MLA candidates releases schedule for polling

Hyderabad: A gazette notification issued on Friday, in light of the ensuing Telangana State Legislative Assembly, called upon the state constituencies to elect members for the purpose of constituting a new Assembly. The ECI also released a list of important dates and timings pertaining to the nomination of MLA candidates and polling. The notification also included the poll code violations done by each party.

As per the notification, in accordance with the provisions of clause (1) of Article 172, the existing Legislative Assembly of Telangana shall continue up to January 16, 2024 (unless dissolved sooner) and will be dissolved on the expiration of its duration.

Under Section 15(2) of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951, a general election has to be held for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly of the State.

As recommended by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in pursuance of sub-section (2) of Section 15 of the RP Act, the governor of the State of Telangana has called upon all the Assembly constituencies in the state, to elect members to the Legislative Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of the said Act and of the rules and orders made there under.

Rules regarding filing nominations

In pursuance of sections 30 and 56 of the said Act, the ECI announced November 10 (Friday), as the last date for making nominations, November 13 (Monday), as the date for scrutiny of nominations, November 15 (Wednesday) as the last date for the withdrawal of candidature, November 30 (Thursday), as the date on which the poll will be taken, and December 5 (Tuesday) as the date before which the election shall be completed.

The nomination timings are from 11 am to 3 pm on working days from November 3 to 10. Three vehicles are allowed in the candidate’s convoy within 100 m of the Returning Officer’s (RO) office at the time of filing nomination.

Including the candidate, a total of five persons are allowed inside the RO’s room. Along with the nomination, the candidate has to file an affidavit in Form-26 declaring information about his criminal antecedents, assets, liabilities and education qualifications.

Nominations will be up for public display

Online nomination facility is available through Suvidha Portal of ECI and a signed hard copy of the same has to be submitted to the RO. After 3 pm of the nomination dates, the RO will publish a list of the nominations filed.

Copies of nominations and affidavits will be displayed on the notice board of the RO’s office on the same day. The affidavits filed by candidates have to be uploaded on the ECI website within 24 hours and will also be displayed on the CEO’s website.

At least one day prior to the filing of the nomination, each candidate has to open a separate bank account to monitor his election expenditure. The bank account can be opened anywhere in the state.

Time of polling

The ECI has also fixed the hours during which the polling will be taken on the date specified. The poll timing for 106 constituencies is from morning 7 am to evening 5 pm on November 30, whereas for 13 constituencies, located somewhat in a remote area or where transport is difficult, the poll timing is from 7 am to 4 pm. These include Sirpur, Chennur (SC), Bellampalli (SC), Mancherial, Asifabad (ST), Manthani, Bhupalpalle, Mulug (ST), Pinapaka (ST), Yellandu (ST), Kothagudem, Aswaraopeta (ST) and Bhadrachalam (ST).

362 MCC violations so far

Meanwhile, state chief electoral officer (CEO) Vikas Raj spoke to the media on the occasion of the issuance of notification and commencement of filing of nominations by candidates.

He spoke about poll preparedness, facilities for voters, especially senior citizens and people with disabilities (PwD), daily seizures of cash, liquor, freebies etc and violation of model code of conduct (MCC).

“There have been 362 cases of MCC violations identified to date. Among these, 16 are by Congress, 13 by BRS, five by BJP and three by BSP. The total worth of cumulative seizures to date has been Rs 453.93 crores. A total number of 256 FIRs have been filed though all are not related to political parties or elections. We have received 2,487 complaints through the c-Vigil app and 437 through the 1950 helpline. The Election Commission is trying to control the movement of freebies and cash for a free and fair election,” said the CEO.