The nomination process for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections would start with issuance of notification on January 25 (Tuesday), and would continue till February 1 (Tuesday).
Sharing the information, the state Chief Electoral Officer Dr S Karuna Raju on Sunday said that as per schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, the filing of nomination papers would start with issuance of notification on January 25. “The scrutiny of the nominations would be done on February 2 (Wednesday), and the last date of withdrawal of candidature would be February 4 (Friday),” he said.
Dr Raju said that the nominations for the upcoming elections would be filed in the office of respective returning officers from 11 am to 3 pm from January 25 to February 1. “The nomination papers are to be filed in FORM 2B. Blank forms are available with the respective Returning Officer. Typed nomination papers will also be accepted provided they are in the prescribed format,” he added.
“In order to qualify for a Vidhan Sabha seat, a candidate should be registered as an elector for any Vidhan Sabha constituency of the State. To satisfy the concerned Returning Officer on this point, candidates should produce a certified copy of the relevant entry of the electoral roll in force,” he said.
A certificate is also required to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in the prescribed form before the concerned Returning Officer or any other person is authorized by the Election Commission of India. The oath or affirmation should be taken or made by a candidate after his nomination before the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations, he said.
The CEO said that January 26 is a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and thus, the nomination papers cannot be presented to the Returning Officer on that day. January 30, being Sunday, is a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and thus nomination papers cannot be presented to the Returning Officer on that day also. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the State from the date of the announcement of elections, that is January 8, 2022, by the Election Commission of India and shall remain in force till the completion of the election process.
Punjab has total 2,12,75,066 registered voters in the state for these elections, out of which 1,11,87,857 are male, 1,00,86,514 female, and 695 third genders. Among these, 1,44,667 voters are Persons with disabilities (PWD), while 1,10,163 are service voters, 1601 NRI voters and 5,13,229 voters are above the age of 80.
There are 24,689 polling stations on 14,751 polling locations, and all the polling booths will be covered under webcasting on the polling day — that is February 20 (Sunday). The polling will be held from 8.00 am to 6 pm, and counting of votes will be on March 10 (Thursday).