EC to announce schedule for Assembly elections to 5 states today

The Election Commission of India will announce the schedule for Assembly elections to Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh at 3.30pm today.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) met top officials of the health ministry this week to review the Covid-19 situation. The meeting was attended by AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava, according to sources.

On December 30, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that all political parties were in favour of holding polls on time. He stated that the commission had told poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab to speed up vaccination so that 100% of those eligible had received the first dose at least.


Meanwhile, the Election Commission revised the expenditure limit for candidates on Thursday. The spending limit for Assembly constituencies was hiked from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 28 lakh and Rs 28 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.

For Lok Sabha constituencies the limit was increased to Rs 75 lakh from Rs 54 lakh and Rs 95 lakh from Rs 70 lakh, depending on the State.

As per an official statement, these limits will be applicable in all upcoming elections.