New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) Counting for the assembly polls in five states will be held March 6 instead of March 4, the Election Commission announced Monday after rescheduling the date of Uttar Pradesh’s first phase election to March 3.
‘The commission has further decided that the counting of votes in all the five states namely Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh shall also be done now on 6th March instead of 4th March,’ a statement issued here said.
The change was made after the poll panel rescheduled the first phase of election to Uttar Pradesh on March 3 instead of Feb 4.
The change was made due to uncertainty that Barawafat, or Id-Milad-un Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad, will be celebrated Feb 4.
The poll panel said the notification for polling in 60 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh first phase elections was Jan 10, but during the review meeting last week with state functionaries the poll panel decided to make the change.
The statement said during their meeting ‘it was pointed out that though the date of ‘Barawafat’ festival in Uttar Pradesh is presently notified as Feb 5 by the state government, the date of festival can fall on Feb 4′.
It said that based on ‘updated assessment of ground situation by election machinery of the state and also keeping in view the overall poll schedule in five States’, the commission took the decision.
‘The election schedule for other phases of UP assembly election shall remain the same, except the date of counting, which shall now be March 6, 2012,’ the statement added.
The elections in Uttar Pradesh are now on Feb 8, 11, 15, 19, 23, 28 and March 3.
