New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the dates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur at 3.30 pm today (Saturday, January 8). While the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), TMC, Samajwadi Party, among others, will be looking to make their mark in the polls, COVID-19 will be a dominant point of debate, even during polls.
Besides the poll schedule, Covid-19 protocols will also be announced amid the rising number of cases across India. Last week, the poll body held a meeting with the Health Ministry to discuss the current Covid situation in the five states. The Health Ministry had submitted a report on the resurgence and the status of vaccination coverage across the nation.
Several political parties have already announced cancellation of political rallies and are focusing more on digital campaigns in the wake of the unabated surge.
Of the five states voting in the next few months, the BJP rules four and the Congress one - Punjab. Here's a look at the five states going to polls in 2022:
Uttar Pradesh:
Current CM: Yogi Adityanath, BJP
The Assembly Election in Uttar Pradesh remains one of the most awaited political battles of 2022. The results in UP has a strong impact on the Lok Sabha polls, which makes this battle even more keenly fought. In 2017, the polls in Uttar Pradesh were held between February and March in seven phases. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the election by an overwhelming three-quarters majority of 325 seats, this despite not projecting a chief ministerial candidate before the election. Once elected to power, Yogi Adityanath was eventually appointed as the Chief Minister of the state.
Punjab:
Current CM: Charanjit Singh Channi, Congress
Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, chaired by President Sonia Gandhi is underway to finalize the first list of candidates for Punjab assembly, said a source to ANI. According to the source, a list of more than 60 names for 117 assembly has already been prepared by the screening committee after several rounds of meetings.
The 2022 polls will elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The term of the current assembly elected in 2017 will expire on 27 March 2022 unless dissolved sooner.
In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats.
Goa
Current CM: Pramod Sawant, BJP
The tenure of Goa Legislative Assembly will be ending on March 15, 2022. In 2017, assembly elections were held in February and after the election, Bharatiya Janata Party formed the state government, with Manohar Parrikar becoming Chief Minister. But CM Parrikar had pancreatic cancer and passed away in March 2019. Pramod Sawant is the current CM of Goa.
Uttarakhand
Current CM: Pushkar Singh Dhami , BJP
In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly election, the Harish Rawat-led Congress government lost out to BJP which registered a massive win. BJP won 57 seats in the 70-member House, while the Congress managed only 11 seats. Trivendra Singh Rawat was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state. But on March 9, 2021, he stepped down, following a decision taken by the BJP top brass. He was followed by Lok Sabha MP Tirath Singh Rawat. But his stint was short-lived as he had six months, till September 10, to become a member of the Uttarakhand Assembly in order to continue in the post. But due to Covid-19 situation, the Election Commission was unlikely to conduct a by-election. He was replaced by the current CM, Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Manipur
Current CM: N. Biren Singh, BJP
The tenure of the Manipur Legislative Assembly will end on March 19 this year. The ruling BJP-led NDA will be looking to repeat its feat, while the Congress, which is in the opposition, will be looking for a different result.
