By-polls in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal to be held on 19 June

The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced that by-elections for five assembly constituencies in Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab, and West Bengal will be held on 19 June, with the counting of votes scheduled four days later on 23 June.

In a statement, the ECI said the last date to file nominations is 2 June. The seats due for polls include Kadi and Visavadar in Gujarat, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab, and Kaliganj in West Bengal.

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While the Kadi (SC) seat fell vacant following the death of 68-year-old Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki, who succumbed to a prolonged battle with cancer, the Visavadar constituency’s MLA Bhayani, Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai of the Aam Aadmi Party, had tendered his resignation and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Nilambur’s MLA PV Anwar resigned shortly after joining the Trinamool Congress in Kerala in January this year, which led to the seat falling vacant. Previously, he had contested the seat as a CPI(M) candidate.

Ludhiana West constituency in Punjab fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, who died from an accidental injury while cleaning his pistol. As per the reports, while Congress and AAP have already named their candidates, the BJP is yet to declare its candidate.

Further, West Bengal’s Kaliganj seat fell vacant after TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed died following cardiac arrest in February this year.

The ECI said that the Gazette notification for the by-elections will be issued on 26 May, and the last date for the scrutiny of nominations is 3 June. Further, candidates can withdraw their candidatures by 5 June. With the announcement of the dates, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the areas where the by-elections are slated to be held. The commission also stated that candidates with criminal antecedents are required to publish information about their criminal records in newspapers and on television on three occasions during the campaign period.

“A political party that nominates candidates with criminal antecedents is also required to publish information about their criminal backgrounds on its website, as well as in newspapers and on television, on three occasions,” the statement read.

The commission has also decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in the bye-election in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been made available and all steps have been taken to ensure that the poll is conducted smoothly with the help of these machines,’ the statement read.