Maharashtra and Haryana will vote on October 21, while counting for both the states will be held on October 24, said Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday. While the term of 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9, that of the 90-member Haryana assembly expires on November 2.
The Model Code of Conduct will come into force after the announcement of dates, which means the current state governments will not be able to make any fresh announcements or roll out new schemes.
The Election Commission has asked political parties not to use plastic during campaigning. "Election campaigns impose an environmental cost upon us. We appeal to political parties to avoid the use of plastic and use only environment-friendly material in their campaigns," Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora said.
Poll-Bound Maharashtra has added nearly eight lakh voters since the April-May 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The overall increase in the number of voters in Maharashtra compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is 7,69,165. The voter tally has gone from 8,86,77,046 at the time of the Lok Sabha elections in April-May to 8,94,46,211 now.
