Election Commission has been announced the assembly elections for the five states.
The
Election Commission has announced election dates for five states, the results of which will be announced on March 11.
Assembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa,
Punjab and
Manipur will be held between February 4 and March 8.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said the Model Code of Conduct would come into effect from now. He said it would be applicable to all candidates, political parties, concerned state governments as well as the central government so far as decisions in the five states are concerned.
While the BJP has said development will be an important poll issue, the Congress has said the verdict will chiefly be based on the ban on high denomination currency by the Narendra Modi government on November 8.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari put the note ban as the central issue for the coming state elections. "The notes ban has caused the maximum pain to each of the 125 crore Indians," he said.
The BJP has claimed the electorate will respond positively to notes ban. Claiming a "positive undercurrent" for the BJP since the move was announced, party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said, "the fight against corruption and demonetisation will be the main theme of the elections."
BJP spokesperson Siddhartha Nath Singh said, "In larger states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the ruling parties face anti-incumbency and will not like to talk about development. While development will remain our poll plank, they will attack demonetisation."
The voters, he said, were "fed up" with corruption. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are committed towards the fight against corruption. As for the development front, the BJP and its allies stand out all along," he added.