UP, Kerala and Punjab bypolls date changed from November 13 to November 20
Following requests from several political parties, the Election Commission of India has changed the polling date for by-elections in 14 Assembly constituencies across Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The polling, which was earlier scheduled for November 13, will now be held on November 20. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Sources in the poll panel said multiple political parties had requested for a change in the polling date, citing festivals such as Kalpathi Rastholsavam (November 13-15), Kartik Purnima (November 15) and Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Nanak Dev (November 15). The parties had said these festivals may impact voter turnout in these states.
Nine Assembly constituents in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala are voting in these bypolls.
A total of 48 Assembly seats and 2 Parliamentary constituencies across 15 states will be voting in these by-elections that are being held alongside the Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
The poll panel said national and state parties have made representations for the change of polling date “considering large-scale social, cultural and religious engagements on that day which may cause inconvenience to large number of people, give rise to various logistic issues and may lead to reduced voter participation during the poll”.