ECI Announces July 30 By‑Polls in Bihar, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced by-elections for three Assembly constituencies of Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

The polling in all three assembly constituencies is scheduled to be held on July 30. The counting of votes will take place on August 3, the ECI said in an official statement.

The Datia Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh fell vacant following the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti. He was disqualified from the state legislative assembly after his conviction in a fraud case.

Notably, Bharti had defeated former MP Home Minister and BJP leader Narottam Mishra from the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections.

Besides the Datia assembly seat, by-elections will also be held for the Manjalpur Assembly constituency in Gujarat and the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Bihar.

The vacancies arose due to the resignation of BJP President Nitin Nabin from the Bankipur seat and the death of BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel from Manjalpur.

The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the districts where the whole or part of the assembly constituencies going to the polls are situated, the commission said.

"The Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in the bye-election in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been made available and all steps have been taken to ensure that the poll is conducted smoothly with the help of these machines," the ECI said in a release.

According to the election schedule, the last date for filing nominations is July 13. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on July 14, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till July 16.

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