Filing of nominations in Telangana and Rajasthan begins today

Filing of nominations for Rajasthan and Telangana Assembly elections will begin today with the issuance of notification. The last date for filing of nominations is 19th of this month in both the states. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on the 20th, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is 22nd of this month. Both the states will go to polls on the 7th of next month to elect of new Assemblies.

The counting of votes will be taken up on December 11 in Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. 

For 200-member Rajasthan Assembly elections, the BJP has released its first list of 131 candidates. The names of these candidates were finalised at the party Central Election Committee meeting held in New Delhi yesterday evening. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and other senior party leaders.

The list includes 85 sitting MLAs, while 25 new faces have been given ticket. The list also include 12 women candidates. While 17 candidates belong to SC community, 19 tickets have been given to ST community. Addressing a press conference, Union health minister and senior BJP leader JP Nadda said that efforts have been made to represent all sections of society.

In Telangana, the 119-member assembly was dissolved on September 6 on the recommendation of the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS government, more than eight months ahead of the expiry of its term, paving the way for early elections.

The TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) has already announced its candidates for 107 seats, including 105 at one go within minutes of the assembly dissolution,



giving itself a jump-start to the campaign and stunning the opposition. TRS is going it alone in the poll, as also the BJP.

The main opposition Congress forged an electoral pact with the Telugu Desam Party, the Telangana Jana Samiti and the Communist Party of India.

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rajat Kumar expressed complete satisfaction over the arrangements that are being made for the elections. The CEO said that the elections in Telangana are going to be historic and significant this time as the ECI is introducing several innovations to increase transparency election process and empower electors.

He said Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be fully used for the first time in Telangana. ERONet for transparent elector rolls and C-Vigil app for keeping a vigil on code-violations are being used for the first time on full scale. He also said the compulsory publication of criminal record by the candidates and parties is major step towards  helping electors to make an informed decision in choosing their representatives.

The CEO said every step is being taken to prevent all types of disturbances and ensure free and fair poll in the state. He said over 76 crore unaccounted cash and 5.5 crore worth liquor have been seized so far in the state ever since the election schedule was announced.

The CEO also said over 2.73 crore electors have enrolled in the state while over 32 thousand 5 hundred polling stations are being set up. Over 2.5 lakh polling staff and police personnel will be deployed to ensure smooth conduct of polls in Telangana.