In Depth Schedule Timetable Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections 2014

In Depth Schedule Timetable Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections 2014

Schedule  for  General  Election  to  the  Legislative  Assemblies  of Haryana  and  Maharashtra  and  bye-elections  to  the Parliamentary/Assembly  Constituencies  of  various  States–
Regarding.

Voting to elect new assemblies in Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 15, and votes will be counted on October 19

The  terms  of  the  Legislative  Assemblies  of  Haryana  and  Maharashtra  areNormally due to expire as follows:
Haryana    :  27.10.2014
 Maharashtra    :  08.11.2014

By virtue of its powers, duties and functions under Article 324 read with Article172(1)  of  the  Constitution  of  India  and  Section  15  of  Representation  of  the  PeopleAct,  1951,  the  Commission  is  required  to  hold  elections  to  constitute  the  newLegislative  Assemblies  in  the  State  of  Haryana  and  Maharashtra  before  expiry  of Their present term.

(1)
Assembly Constituencies

The  total  number  of  Assembly  Constituencies  in  the  States  of  Haryana  andMaharashtra  and  seats  reserved  for  the  Scheduled  Castes  and  the  ScheduledTribes,  as  determined  by  the  Delimitation  Commission  under  the  Delimitation  Act,2002, are as under: -

A-
State - Haryana
Total No.  Of Assembly Constituencies - 90
Reserved for SCs - 17
Reserved for STs - -

B-
State - Maharashtra
Total No.  Of Assembly Constituencies - 288
Reserved for SCs - 29
Reserved for STs - 25

(2)
Electoral Rolls -
The  Electoral  Rolls  of  all  existing  Assembly  Constituencies  in  the  States  ofHaryana and Maharashtra on the basis of the electoral rolls revised with reference to1.1.2014  as  the  qualifying  date  have  been  finally  published  on  31.07.2014.  TheNumber of electors in the States, as on 31.07.2014, is as under:

State - Haryana
Total No. of Electors - 16158117

State - Maharashtra
Total No. of Electors - 82591826

(3)
Photo Electoral Rolls
Photo electoral rolls will be used during the forthcoming general elections andPhoto percentages in Photo Electoral Rolls of these States are as follows:-

A-
State – Haryana
Percentage of Photo Electoral Rolls - 100

B-
States – Maharashtra
Percentage of Photo Electoral Rolls - 91.30

4-
Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC)

Identification  of  the  voters  at  the  polling  booth  at  the  time  of  poll  shall  beMandatory.  Electors who have been provided with EPIC shall be identifiedThrough EPIC. Presently, the EPIC coverage in the State is as under:-

A-
State – Haryana
Percentage of EPIC   - 100

B-
States – Maharashtra
Percentage of EPIC - 92.40

All  the  residual  electors  are  advised  to  obtain  their  Elector  Photo  IdentityCards from the Electoral Registration Officers of their Assembly Constituencies Urgently.In order to ensure that no voter is deprived of his/her franchise, if his/her namefigures  in  the Electoral  Rolls,  separate  instructions  will  be  issued  to  allow  additional Documents for identification of voters, if needed.

(5)
Polling Stations

Polling  Stations  in  the  poll  going  States  as  on  the  date  of final  publication  of Electoral rolls are as follows:

A-
State – Haryana
No. of Polling Stations - 16244

B-
State – Maharashtra
No. of Polling Stations – 90403 for the facility of physically challenged persons, instructions have been issued to ensure that all polling stations as far as practicable, are located at ground floor and ramps are provided. Facilitation shall also be provided for locating electors’ names ina  polling  station  or  a  group  of  polling  stations  through  help  lines  and  facilitation Centers.

(6)   
Basic Minimum Facilities (BMF) at Polling Stations
The Commission has issued instructions to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States to ensure that every Polling Station is equipped with Basic Minimum Facilities (BMF) like drinking water, shed, toilet, and ramp for the physically challenged voters and a standard voting compartment etc.

(7)
Polling Parties and Randomization
Polling parties shall be formed randomly, through special application software.
Three-stage randomization will be adopted.  First, from a wider district database of eligible  officials,  a  shortlist  of  a  minimum  120%  of  the  required  numbers  will  beRandomly picked up. This group will be trained for polling duties. In the second stage,from  this  trained  manpower,  actual  polling  parties  as  required  shall  be  formed  byrandom  selection  software  in  the  presence  of  General  Observers.  In the thirdrandomization,  the  polling  stations  will  be  allocated  randomly  just  before  the  pollingParty’s departure. There shall be randomization for such Police Constables and Home guards also, who are deployed at the polling stations on the poll day.

(8)
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

The poll in these States will be conducted at all polling stations using EVMs.The Commission has already made arrangements to ensure availability of adequateNumber of EVMs for the smooth conduct of elections. The Commission has issued aNew set of instructions with regard to the First Level Check of EVMs, that will be usedIn the poll in these States.  The  First  Level  Check  of  EVMs,  has  been  done  in  thePresence of representatives of political parties.  A two-stage randomization of EVMsWill be made. In the first stage, all the EVMs stored in the district storage center will be  randomized  by  the  District  Election  Officer  (DEO)  in  the  presence  of  the
Representatives of the recognized political parties for allocation assemblyConstituency-wise. EVMs will be prepared and set for elections after finalization of theContesting candidates. At this stage also, candidates or their agents/representativeswill  be  allowed  to  check  and  satisfy  themselves  in  every  manner  about  the Functionality of the EVMs. After the EVMs in a constituency are prepared for the poll  by  the  Returning  Officer  and  the  ballot  units  are  fitted  with  ballot  papers,  then  the EVMs will again be randomized to decide the actual polling stations in which they willBe ultimately used. The Second Stage randomization will be done in the presence of Observers, Candidates or their Election Agents.

(9)
None of the Above (NOTA) Option in EVMs
In  its  judgment  dated  27th  September,  2013  in  Writ  Petition  (C)  No.  161 of 2004,  the  Supreme  Court  has  directed  that  there  should  be  a  “None  of  the  Above”  (NOTA)  option on the ballot papers and EVMs.    The Court has directed that the Commission should implement it ‘either in a phased manner or at a time with the  assistance of Government of India’.
On the Balloting Unit, below the name of the last candidate, there will now be a  button  for  NOTA  option  so  that  electors  who  do  not  want  to  vote  for  any  of  the candidates can exercise their option by pressing the button against NOTA.  The Commission is taking steps to bring this to the knowledge of voters and all  other  stakeholders and  to  train  all field  level  officials  including  the polling  personnel  about the NOTA option.

(10)
Affidavits of candidates – all columns to be filled in
In  pursuance  of  the  judgment  dated  13th  September,  2013  passed  by  the Supreme Court in Writ Petition (C) No. 121 of 2008, which among other things makes  it obligatory for the Returning Officer “to check whether the information required is   fully  furnished  at  the  time  of  filing  of  affidavit  with  the nomination  paper”,  the  Commission  has  issued  instructions  that  in  the  affidavit  to  be  filed  along  with  the nomination paper, candidates are required to fill up all columns.  If any column in the affidavit is left blank, the Returning Officer will issue a notice to the candidate to file  the  affidavit  with  all  columns  filled  in.    After  such  notice,  if  a  candidate  fails  to  file affidavit complete in all respect, the nomination paper will be liable to be rejected at
the  time  of  scrutiny.    The  Chief  Electoral  Officers  have  been  directed  to  brief  all
Returning Officers about the judgment of the Supreme Court and the Commission’s
instructions.

(11)
Communication plan
The  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to  preparation  andimplementation  of  a perfect  communication plan at  the district/constituency  level  for the  smooth  conduct  of  elections  and  to  enable  concurrent  intervention  and  mid course  correction  on  the  poll  day.    For  the  said  purpose,  the  Commission  has directed the Chief Electoral Officers of all the polling going states to coordinate with the  officers  of  Telecommunication  Department  in  the  State  headquarters,
BSNL/MTNL authorities, the representatives of other leading service providers in the States so that network status in the States is assessed and communication shadow areas  be  identified.    The  CEOs  have  also  been  advised  to  ensure  best communication plan in their States

(12)
Videography
  All  critical  events  will  be  video-graphed.  District  Election  Officers  will  arrange sufficient  number  of  video  and  digital  cameras  and  camera  teams  for  the  purpose. The  events  for  videography  will  include  filing  of  nominations,  scrutiny  thereof  and  allotment  of  symbols,  First  Level  Checking,  preparations  and  storage  of  Electronic Voting  Machines,  important  public  meetings,  processions  etc.  during  campaign,  process of dispatching of postal ballot papers, polling process in identified vulnerable polling  stations,  storage  of  polled  EVMs,  counting  of  votes  etc.  Webcasting, Videography  and  Digital  cameras  will  also  be  deployed  inside  polling  booths wherever  needed.  CDs  of  video  recordings  will  be  available  on  payment  to  anyone
who wishes to obtain a copy of the same.

(13)
Law and Order and Deployment of Forces
Conduct  of  elections  involves  elaborate  security  management.  It  includesensuring the security of polling personnel, security at the polling stations, security of polling materials and also the overall security of the election process. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are deployed for area domination prior to poll in order to buildconfidence  in  the  minds  of  voters  specially  vulnerable  voters  viz.  weaker  section,minorities etc.  Keeping all this in  mind,  the very designing of the poll schedule,  and sequencing of multi-phase elections and choice of constituencies for each phase had
to follow the logic of force availability and force management. The Commission has taken various measures to ensure free and fair elections
by creating an atmosphere in which each elector is able to access the polling stationwithout being obstructed or being unduly influenced/intimidated by anybody. Based  on  the  assessment  of  the  ground  situation,  Central  Armed  PoliceForces  (CAPF)  and  State  Armed  Police  (SAP)  drawn  from  other  States  will  be deployed  during  these  elections.  The  CAPF  and  SAP  will  be  used  generally  for safeguarding the polling stations and for providing security to the electors and polling
personnel at  the polling stations on the poll day.  Besides,  these forces will be used for  securing  the  strong  rooms  where  the  EVMs  are  stored  and  for  securing  the  counting centers and for other purposes, as required.  The Commission has been issuing instructions from time to time with regard to the advance preventive measures to be taken by the District Magistrates and Police
authorities to maintain the Law & Order and to create atmosphere conducive for the
conduct of free and fair elections. The Commission will be constantly monitoring the
ground situation closely and will take appropriate measures to ensure peaceful, free
and fair polls in these States.

(14)
Protection to SC/ST Electors
  As  per  Section  3  (1)  (vii)  of  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes (Prevention  of  Atrocities)  Act,  1989,  whoever,  not  being  a  member  of  a  Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled  Tribe  not  to  vote  or  to  vote  for  a  particular  candidate  or  to  vote  in  a
manner other than that provided by law shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and
with  fine.  The  Commission  has  asked  the  State  Governments  to  bring  these
provisions to the notice of all concerned for prompt action.

(15)
General Observers
  The Commission will deploy General Observers in adequate number to ensure
Smooth conduct of elections. The Observers will be asked to keep a close watch on
every  stage  of the electoral  process  to  ensure  free  and fair  elections.  Their names,
addresses  within  the  district/constituency  and  their  telephone  numbers  will  be
Publicized in local newspapers so that the general public can quickly approach them
For any grievance redressal.  The Observers will be given a detailed briefing by the
Commission before their deployment. Commission may also deploy Police Observers
To keep a close watch on law & order situation.

(16)
 Election Expenditure Monitoring

  Comprehensive instructions for the purpose of effective monitoring of the
Election expenditure of the candidates have been issued, which include formation of
flying  squads,  static  surveillance  Teams,  video  surveillance  Teams,  involvement  of
Investigation Directorates of Income Tax Deptt.  Etc.  State Excise Departments and
police  authorities  have  been  asked  to  monitor  production,  distribution,  sale  and
Storage of liquor and other intoxicants during the election process.
For  greater  transparency  and  for  ease  of  monitoring  of  Election  Expenses,
Candidates  would  be  required  to  open  a  separate  bank  account  and  incur  their
Election expenses from that very account.  The Investigation Directorate of Income
Tax Dept. has been asked to open Air Intelligence unit in the airports of these states
And also to gather intelligence and take necessary action against movement of large
Sum of money in these states.


Expenditure Observers and Assistant Exp.  Observers from Central
Government are being appointed to keep close watch on election expenditure of the
Candidates.  Control  room  and  Complaint  Monitoring  Centre  with  24  hours  toll  free
Numbers shall be operative during the entire election process.  Banks and financial
intelligence  units  of  Government  of  India  have  been  asked  to  forward  suspicious
Cash withdrawal reports to the election officials.

  All  candidates  must  ensure  that  they  file  their  affidavits  in  the  revised  format
(Form 26) only. The revised format is available on the ECI website and in Returning
Officer’s handbook.

(17)
Paid News
To deal with the issue of ‘Paid News’, a mechanism has been laid out with
Three tier of Media certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMC) at District, State
And ECI level.  Revised comprehensive instruction on ‘Paid News’ are available on
The Commission’s Website.

Necessary instructions have been issued to the CEOs of the poll going states
To ensure briefing of political parties and Media in the districts about ‘Paid News’ and
The mechanism to check ‘Paid News’. The MCMCs of all states have been trained to
Do their job.

(18)
Police Observers

The Commission may deploy IPS officers as Police Observers in district level,
In the poll going States depending upon the need and sensitivity. They will monitor all
activities  relating  to  force  deployment,  law  and  order  situation  and  co-ordinate
Between civil and Police administration to ensure free and fair election.

(19)
Micro Observers
In  addition  to  General  Observers,  the  Commission  will  also  deploy  Micro
Observers  to  observe  the  poll  proceedings  in  the  polling  stations  on  the  poll  day  in
Selected critical polling stations.  They will be chosen from CentralGovernment/Central PSUs officials. Micro-Observers will observe the proceedings atThe polling stations on the poll day right from the mock poll to the completion of polland  the  process  of  sealing  of  EVMs  and  other  documents  to  ensure  that  allinstructions  of  the  Commission  are  complied  with  by  the  Polling  Parties  and  thePolling Agents. They will report to the General Observers directly about any vitiation
Of the poll proceedings in their allotted polling stations.


(20)
Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)

 Comprehensive measures for voters’ education were taken up during the
Special Roll Revision process in the poll going states. These measures will continue
During the electoral process.  Chief Electoral Officers of the poll-going states have
been  directed  to  ensure  wide  dissemination of  election  related  information  and  also
For carrying out Voter Education campaigns as well as adequate facilitation measures
For ensuing wider participation of people in polling.

Model polling stations will also be set up in identified districts. Voter-helplines,
Voters’ Facilitation Centres, web and SMS based search facilities are active for
Assistance of voters. There are special facilities in place for those, who are physically
Challenged or have special needs.

(21)
Conduct of Officials
The  Commission  expects  all  officials  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  elections  to
discharge  their  duties  in  an  impartial  manner  without  any  fear  or  favour.  They are
deemed  to  be  on  deputation  to  the  Commission  and  shall  be  subject  to  its  control,
Supervision and discipline.  The conduct of all Government officials who have been
entrusted  with  election  related  responsibilities  and  duties  would  remain  under
constant  scrutiny  of  the  Commission  and  strict  action  shall  be  taken  against  those
Officials who are found wanting on any account.

The Commission has already given instructions that no election related official or
Police officer of the rank of Inspector and above shall be allowed to continue in his
Home district.  Besides, instructions have also been issued that election related
officials  including  police  officials  of  Inspector  level  &  above  who  have  completed
Three years in a district during last four years should be transferred out of that district.
Police  officers  of  the  rank  of  Sub  Inspectors  who  have  completed  three  years  in  a
Sub Division/Assembly Constituency or are posted in their home sub
division/assembly  constituency  shall  be  transferred  out  of  that  Sub  Division  and  the
Assembly Constituency.

The Commission has also instructed the State Governments not to associate any
Officer with the electoral process against whom charges have been framed in a court
Of law in any case.

(22)
District Election Plan
The  District  Election  Officers  have  been  asked  to  prepare  a  comprehensive
District election plan in consultation with SPs and Sector Officers including the route
Plan and communication plan for conduct of elections. These plans will be vetted by
the  Observers  taking  into  account  vulnerability  mapping  exercise  and  mapping  of
Critical polling station in accordance with Election Commission of India’s extant
Instructions.

(23)
Model Code of Conduct
The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately from now onwards.
All the provisions of the Model Code will apply to the whole of poll going States and
Will be applicable to all candidates, political parties, the State Government of Haryana
& Maharashtra. The Model Code of Conduct shall be applicable to the Union Govt.
For the States concerned.

The Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective
implementation  of  the MCC  Guidelines  Any  violations  of  these Guidelines  would  be
Strictly dealt with and the Commission re-emphasizes that the instructions issued in
This regard from time to time should be read and understood by all Political Parties,
contesting  candidates  and  their  agents/representatives,  to  avoid  any  misgivings  or
Lack of information or understanding/interpretation.

(24)
Photo Voter Slips

To  facilitate  the  voters  to  know  where  he/she  is  enrolled  as  a  voter  at  a
particular  polling  station  and  what  is  his/her  serial  number  in  the  Electoral  roll,  the
Commission  has  directed  that  voter  slip  along  with  Photo  (wherever  present  in  the
Roll) will be distributed to all enrolled voters by the District Election Officer. It has also
been  directed  that  the  said  voter  slip  should  be  in  the  languages  in  which  electoral
Roll is published for that Assembly Constituency.

(25)
Complaint redressal mechanism – Call Center and Website based
All  poll  going  States  shall  have  a  complaint  redressal  mechanism  based  on
Website and call center.  The  number  of  call  center  is  1950,  which  is  a  toll  free
Number.  The  URL  of  the  complaint  registration  website  will  be  announced  for  each
State by the respective Chief Electoral Officer separately.  Complaints can be
registered  by  making  calls  to  the  toll  free  call  center  numbers  or  on  the  web  site.
Action will be taken within time limit on all complaints.  Complainants will also be
Informed of the action taken by SMS and by the call center. Complainants can also
See the details of the action taken on their complaints on the website.

(26)
Schedules of Election

The  Commission  has  prepared  the  Schedules  for  holding  General  Elections  to
the  Legislative  Assemblies  of  Haryana,  Maharashtra  and  for  bye  elections  in
Parliament and Assembly Constituencies after taking into consideration all relevant
aspects,  like  the  Climatic  conditions,  Academic  Calendars,  Festivals,  prevailing  law
And order situation in the States, availability of Central Police Forces, time needed for
Movement, transportation and timely deployment of forces, and assessment of other
Ground realities.

The Commission after considering all relevant aspects has decided to
recommend  to  the  Governors  of  the  States,  to  issue  notifications  for  the  General
Elections  to  the  Legislative  Assemblies  of  the  states  of  Haryana  &  Maharashtra
under  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  Representation  of  the  People  Act,  1951.  The
Election  Schedule  for  general  election  to  the  Legislative  Assemblies  of  Haryana  &
Maharashtra is appended at Annexure ‘1-A’.

(27)
Bye-Election to Parliamentary Constituency

(a)
39  Bed  PC  of  Maharashtra  -  The  Commission  has  also  decided  to  hold
Bye-election from 39-Beed Parliamentary Constituency of Maharashtra The
Election schedule for 39-Beed PC is at Annexure ‘1-A’.

(b)
13  Kandhamal  PC  of  Odisha  -  The  Commission  has  also  decided  to  hold
Bye-election from 13-Kandhamal Parliamentary Constituency of Odisha.  The
Election schedule for 13-Kandhamal PC is at Annexure ‘1-B’.

(28)
Bye-Elections to Assembly Constituencies
The  Commission  has  also  decided  to  hold  bye-elections  from  the  following
Assembly Constituencies as per schedule mentioned at Annexure ‘1-A’.

Name of State - Arunachal Pradesh
No. and name of Assembly Constituency - 58-Kanubari (ST)

Name of State - Manipur
No. and name of Assembly Constituency - 38-Hiyanglam

Name of State - Nagaland
No. and name of Assembly Constituency - 11-Northern Ngami-II (ST)

Name of State  - Uttar Pradesh
No. and name of Assembly Constituency – 08-Kairana

Name of State  - Gujarat
No. and name of Assembly Constituency - 69-Rajkot West

 As  for  Bye  elections  in  Parliamentary  and  Assembly  Constituencies,  the
Model Code of Conduct shall come into force with immediate effect in the district(s) in
which the whole or any part of the Parliament or Assembly Constituencies going for
bye-elections  are  included,  subject  to  partial  modification  as  issued  vide
Commission’s instruction No. 437/INST/201/CC&BE, dated 26th April, 2012 (available
on the Commission’s website).The Model Code of Conduct shall be applicable to all

Reality views by sm –

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Tags – Schedule Assembly Elections 2014 Maharashtra Haryana