Gujarat bypoll election on June 19; ECI announces dates for 5 assembly seats in 4 states

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced the schedule for by-elections to five Assembly constituencies across four states, with Gujarat featuring prominently as two of its seats – Kadi (SC-reserved) and Visavadar – are set to go to polls on June 19. The counting of votes will take place on June 23.

In Gujarat, the Visavadar seat fell vacant after Bhupatbhai Bhayani, elected as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, resigned and later joined the BJP. The Kadi seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, became vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki.

The bypolls in Gujarat are part of a wider set of elections announced by the ECI for five Assembly constituencies across the country.

In Kerala, the Nilambur seat is up for election following the resignation of Independent MLA P V Anvar.

Punjab will see a by-election in Ludhiana West, necessitated by the death of Congress MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi.

In West Bengal, the bypoll in Kaliganj was triggered by the death of veteran Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, who passed away due to cardiac arrest in February.

According to the ECI, the Gazette Notification will be issued on May 26, the last date for nominations is June 2, scrutiny of nominations will be done on June 3, and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is June 5. The entire election process will conclude by June 25.

With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect immediately in all relevant districts.

The Commission has also reiterated its guidelines for candidates with criminal antecedents, requiring them to publish relevant details in newspapers and on television on three occasions during the campaign period. Political parties nominating such candidates must also disclose the reasons for their selection within 48 hours on their websites, social media, and newspapers.

Additionally, these disclosures will be available on the ‘Know Your Candidate’ app, enabling voters to make informed decisions.

(This story was taken from a syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital team)