Bypolls rescheduled: 14 Assembly seats across Kerala, Punjab, UP to now vote on November 20

Parties including Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout.

New Delhi: The bypolls to 14 Assembly seats -- all nine in Uttar Pradesh, all four in Punjab and one in Kerala -- have been rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 in view of festivals in these states.

The Election Commission on Monday cited representations from parties like the Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD seeking rescheduling of the bypolls in view of festivals that could impact the voting.

There is no change in the date -- November 23 -- of counting of votes or the schedule of Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections.

In Uttar Pradesh, all nine seats -- Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Sishamau, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan -- will now go to polls on November 20, as parties like BJP, BSP and the RLD argued people travel for three to four days ahead of Kartik Purnima, which will be celebrated on November 15.

People in Punjab will be celebrating the 555th Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Nanak Dev on November 15 and an 'akhand path' will be organised from November 13 onwards. Parties have cited it while seeking postponement of the polls in Punjab where Barnala, Gidderbaha, Chabbewal and Dera Baba Nanak are scheduled for voting.

In Kerala, Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and Chelakkara Assembly seat will see bypoll as announced on November 13. However, the bypoll for Palakkad seat has been rescheduled to November 20 as a significant portion of the electorate in Palakkad will celebrate the Kalpathi Ratholsavam festival from November 13 to 15.

The EC had on October 15 announced bypolls to Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and 47 Assembly seats on November 13 along with phase one elections for the Jharkhand assembly. Bypolls to the Nanded Lok Sabha seat and the Kedarnath assembly seat were scheduled for November 20 along with Maharashtra assembly polls and phase two of Jharkhand elections.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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