EC announces poll dates in Meghalaya,Tripura and Nagaland

The stage is set for BJP to make an ambitious push in the north-east while CPM and Congress defend their bastions in Tripura and Meghalaya, respectively, with the Election Commission announcing on Thursday that the two states will go to the polls on February 18 (Tripura) and 27 (Meghalaya). Nagaland will also vote on February 27.The results will be declared on March 3.

There is a possibility that bypolls to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats, vacated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath and his



deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, could also be held in March, according to agencies. Chief election commissioner A K Joti said the Lok Sabha bypoll in UP cannot be announced as of now as the electoral rolls for poll-bound seats with January 1, 2018 as the reference date will be published only on February 9. The bypolls must be held on the basis of the new electoral rolls as per norms. The Anantnag bypoll, which was postponed in mid-2017 due to law and order concerns, is likely to be held after the panchayat polls in J&K.