UP local bodies polls in July

Meerut, Feb 24 (PTI) Local bodies polls in UttarPradesh will be held in the last week of July, the stateElection Commission has said.

Polls of members will be held first, followed by theelection of mayors and chairman, Rajendra Bhonwal, the stateelection commissioner, told PTI yesterday.

Bhonwal said for the first time in UP local bodiespolls Electronic Voting Machines will be used and orders forpurchasing the same has been issued.

Soon after conducting local bodies elections, theElection Commission will start preparations for holdingAssembly polls, he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress workers protested the proposalof conducting the local bodies polls by using EVM''s and burntcopies of the proposed bill at Baccha Park crossing hereyesterday, sources said.

They insisted to continue with the present systemwherein only elected members select the Mayors and panchayatChairmen and not the electorates.

The new bill proposes to subject the candidates to gothrough a process of election for the posts of Mayor andpanchayat Chairman.