The nomination for the first phase of panchayat elections commenced on Saturday for the crucial three-tier panchayat polls in the state, termed as the biggest rural polls of the world.
The nominations for the first phase of elections will end on Sunday and the candidates can file their nominations for the posts of gram pradhan, gram panchayat, kshetra and zila panchayat members in 18 districts of the state.
The nomination papers will be filed between 8 am and 5 pm at all the development block headquarters in the districts on the two days. The scrutiny of the nomination papers for the first phase will be done on April 5 and the last date of withdrawal of papers and allocation of symbols is April 7.
Over 12.30 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in the four phases of polling through ballot papers on April 15, 19, 26 and 29. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 2.
Each voter will be eligible to cast four votes, one each for village panchayat member, gram pradhan, kshetra panchayat member and zila panchayat member.
Additional State Election Commissioner Ved Prakash Verma said here on Saturday that instructions had been issued to all the district magistrates to ensure that the supporters of the candidates coming to the block headquarters were stopped 200 metre before the office on the nomination day. He said only the candidate, his election agent, proposer and one more person would be allowed to enter the nomination room.
The State Election Commission has issued a Covid guideline directing that if a coronavirus infected person wants to contest the election, he/she can submit the papers to the returning officer through the proposer or any other authorised person. Such persons will not themselves appear before the returning officer. Soap, water and sanitiser will be arranged for the persons coming to present the nomination papers in the returning officer's room and the staff will be deployed for its use.
The SEC has also directed that the attendants have to put on masks while submitting the nomination papers. People will not be allowed to enter the room of the returning officer without a mask. Only the candidate and one other person with him will be allowed to enter the returning officer's room for submission of nomination papers.
Arrangements will be made for other candidates and their attendants to sit outside the waiting room in such a way that proper social distance can be followed.
The districts that are going to polls in the first phase of panchayat elections includes Saharanpur., Ghaziabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Hathras, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, Mahoba, Prayagraj, Rae Bareli, Hardoi, Ayodhya, Shravasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Bhadohi.