Guwahati: With the schedule for the Assam Assembly elections announced, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel on Monday outlined the nomination process and key timelines for the electoral exercise.
Addressing a press conference at Janata Bhawan, Goel said candidates can file their nomination papers from Monday until March 23 between 11 am and 3 pm.
“All nominations will be received at the offices of the District Commissioners,” he said.
The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on March 24, while March 26 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
After scrutiny and withdrawal, ballot papers will be finalised and printed at secured government presses for use in the ballot units of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
“The electronically transmitted postal ballots for armed forces personnel will be sent by March 27 at 3 pm,” Goel said.
Campaigning for the elections will continue until 5 pm on April 7.
“Polling will be held on April 9 from 7 am to 5 pm, and campaigning must stop 48 hours before the close of polling,” Goel said.
On the possibility of repolling, Goel said any such decision would be taken by the Election Commission of India depending on the situation.
He also shared updated figures on the state’s electorate. According to him, when the electoral roll was published on February 10, the number of electors stood at 2,49,58,239.
“As of March 15, after continuous updating of the rolls, the number of electors has increased to 2,50,21,413. There has been a net addition of around 64,000 voters during this period, with about 1,64,000 additions and around one lakh deletions,” he said.
Assam will go to the polls on April 9, the same day as Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Following the announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into immediate effect across the state, restricting new policy announcements and the use of official machinery for campaign purposes.