State Election Commissioner Ajay Singh, accompanied by Secretary of the Commission Dr Sarveshwar Narendra Bhure, addressing a press conference.
Staff Reporter
RAIPUR,
The dates for the civic body elections and the three-tier Panchayat elections in Chhattisgarh have been announced and the
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect, stated State Election Commissioner Ajay Singh while addressing a press conference at the State Election Commission office in Nava Raipur on Monday.
The elections for 173 civic bodies, including 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipal councils, and 114 Nagar Panchayats, will be conducted in a single phase on February 11. The nomination process will commence on January 22, with the last
date for submission being January 28. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on January 29, and candidates can withdraw their nominations by January 31.
Voting in 3,201 wards will be held on February 11, and the counting of votes is scheduled for February 15. By-elections for five wards in Sukma and Durg district will also be conducted simultaneously. A total of 44,74,269 voters, comprising 22,00,525 male voters, 22,73,232 female voters, and 512 third-gender voters, are eligible to cast their votes in the civic bodies elections. For this purpose, 5,970 polling stations will be established, including 22 polling stations for by-elections. Among these, 1,531 polling stations are categorized as sensitive, and 132 as hyper-sensitive.
The elections for civic bodies will be conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). A total of 12,510 Control Units (CU) and 22,651 Ballot Units (BU) will be deployed. The three-tier Panchayat elections will be conducted in three phases on February 17, 20, and 23.
The nomination process will start on January 27 and end on February 3. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on February 4, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is February 6. Polling will take place on February 17, 20, and 23, with the counting of votes happening on the same days at the polling stations. If necessary, counting at block headquarters will be conducted on February 18, 21, and 24.
Tabulation and results for Panchs, Sarpanchs, and Janpad Panchayat members will be announced at the block level on February 19, 22, and 25, respectively. Results for Zila Panchayat members will be declared at district headquarters on February 20, 23, and 25.
The MCC will remain in force until February 25. The Panchayat elections will be held for 433 Zila Panchayat members, 2,973 Janpad Panchayat members, 11,672 Sarpanchs, and 1,60,180 Panchs, making a total of 1,75,258 posts. A total of 1,58,12,580 voters, including 78,20,202 male voters, 79,92,184 female voters, and 194 third-gender voters, will cast their votes. For the Panchayat elections, 31,041 polling stations will be set up, of which 7,128 are sensitive and 2,161 are hyper-sensitive. These elections will be conducted using ballot papers. To ensure smooth conduct of these elections, 1,79,173 polling personnel will be deployed, with an additional 17,917 personnel in reserve. The State Election Commissioner emphasized that all necessary arrangements are being made to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections across state.