Election Commission to announce schedule for Assembly elections in 5 states at 3:30 pm

The Election Commission of India will declare the timetable for Assembly elections in five states at 3.30 pm on Saturday. Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh will conduct Assembly elections this year. 

The BJP controls four of the five states voting, while the Congress governs Punjab. The elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh will be closely watched, with the Congress vying to keep control of one of the few states it completely controls. The UP election is seen as crucial for the BJP, which is under pressure in the state as a result of the Yogi Adityanath government's handling of the COVID epidemic and the rise of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav as a strong opponent.

Other states voting in February and March include Goa, where the BJP faces anti-incumbency as well as challenges from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress, in addition to the Congress. The Congress and the AAP will also run against the BJP in Uttarakhand, where the ruling party was forced to shift chief ministers twice in less than six months last year.

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Elections will take place in all five states despite a major spike in COVID cases across the nation, fueled in part by the Omicron variety – the Union Health Ministry recorded over 1.41 lakh new infections in the previous 24 hours, a 21% increase from the day before.

Last month, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh requested the Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to postpone voting. The highest electoral authority, on the other hand, has met with the Union Health Ministry and agreed to hold elections.

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• Election Commission
• Goa Election 2022
• Punjab Election 2022
• Uttar Pradesh Election 2022