New Delhi, October 6: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the date for Lok Sabha by-polls in Shimoga, Bellary and Mandya in Karnataka. The elections on these constituencies are to be held on November 3. The ECI today also announced the dates for Assembly Elections 2018 in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Voting for the first phase of elections in Southern Chhattisgarh will be held on November 12 in 18 constituencies, and Phase-2 will be held in Northern Chhattisgarh on the remaining 72 constituencies on November 20.

In Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, voting will take place on November 28. In Rajasthan and Telangana, voting will be held on December 7. Counting of votes will be held on December 11. The model code of conduct has been put in place in the five states from today. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat said that the theme for these polls is 'accessible elections'.

There will be at least one polling station in every constituency which will be an all-women polling station. All machines being used are Mark-III. VVPATs will also be used along with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The CEC also announced that the candidate expenditure limit is Rs 28 lakh except in Mizoram, where the limit is Rs 20 lakh.

The tenure of the 200-seat Rajasthan Assembly will end on January 20, 2019, while the term of Madhya Pradesh assembly will be ending on January 7. The tenure of the 90-seat Chhattisgarh Assembly will end on January 5, 2019, and the term of the Mizoram Assembly will end on December 15, 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has its government in three states – MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile in Telangana Elections were due next year, but Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao dissolved the Assembly and called for early elections in the state. These elections are crucial for both the national parties - Congress and the BJP - as they will set the pace for the upcoming  Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2018 04:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).