Election Commission to reveal poll dates for 5 states today

New Delhi, Dec 24: With India gearing up for Assembly polls in five states, the Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule today for the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The dates will emerge after a meeting between Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and Election Commissioners V S Sampath and H S Brahma that is scheduled to be held at 4:30pm on Saturday. The decision regarding the dates will be arrived at after the EC assesses the availability of paramilitary forces from the government.

The EC had held discussions with Home Secretary R K Singh on the availability of paramilitary forces for Assembly polls in five states. The polls will require as many as 80,000 paramilitary personnel beside state policemen.

The Home Ministry has promised to provide 700 to 800 companies (70,000-80,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces to the Election Commission for the five election-bound states. Sources have revealed that the polls in Uttar Pradesh will be carried out in a phased manner while the elections in the rest of the states will be carried out in a single phase. The polls are most likely to be conducted during the months of February-March.

OneIndia News