New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced by-polls for five Assembly constituencies across four states. These constituencies are Kadi and Visavadar in Gujarat, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab, and Kaliganj in West Bengal.
The voting for these Assembly seats is scheduled for June 19 and the counting of votes will be held on June 23. The election process will be completed by June 25.
All polling stations will have Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) attached to the EVMs, the ECI has announced. After the announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in all the five constituencies.
The provisions of the Model Code of Conduct, as issued by the Commission during the by-elections on January 2, 2024, will be applicable in matters related to the release of funds under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for the concerned Parliamentary constituencies of the respective legislative Assembly areas.
Among other things, these provisions ensure that no new funds under MPLADS are to be released to any part of the district where the concerned Assembly/parliamentary constituency going to elections is located, until the completion of the election process.
If the constituency is located in a state capital/metropolitan city/municipal corporation area, then the above directions will apply only to the concerned constituency.
Similarly, no new funds will be released under the Local Area Development Fund of MLAs/MLCs. If any such scheme is ongoing, no funds can be released under it until the election process is completed.
The provisions clearly state that no work shall be started for which a work order has been issued before the issuance of this letter but where the actual work has not commenced. Such work can only be initiated after the completion of the election process. However, if any work has already started, it may continue.
There will also be no restriction on the release of payments for works that have been completed, subject to the full satisfaction of the concerned authorities.
According to the Election Commission, where schemes have been approved and funds have either been made available or released, and construction materials have been procured and delivered to the work site, such schemes may be implemented as per the program.
