Schedule for Assembly Elections-2023 Declared in the State

• 11 Oct 2023

Why In News?

On October 9, 2023, Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta told in a press conference held at the Government Secretariat that the Election Commission of India has announced the assembly elections-2023 in the state. According to the election schedule, voting for all the two hundred seats in the state will be held on November 23, 2023, and counting of votes will take place on December 3.

Key points:

• Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said in the press conference that a total of more than 5 crore 27 lakh voters in the state will be able to exercise their franchise. With the election announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has also come into effect in the state with immediate effect.
• With the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, there has been a ban on transfers and appointments in the state. In case of urgent need, the state government will be able to transfer election related officers and employees only after taking approval from the Election Commission.
• The work of filing nominations will start with the release of the notification on October 30 as part of the election process for all the 200 seats in the state. Nominations can be filed in the state till November 6. Nomination papers will be scrutinized on 7th November and names can be withdrawn till 9th November. Voting will take place on 23 November and counting of votes will take place on 3 December.
• The Chief Electoral Officer said that out of 200 assembly seats in the state, 34 are reserved for Scheduled Castes, 25 for Scheduled Tribes, while 141 seats are for the general category.
• He said that there will be a ban on the use of government vehicles, helicopters and planes for election purposes. During elections, the name of the publisher and printer must be published on any publication material such as poster, pamphlet etc. Action will be taken against printing press owners who do not do so under Section 127 (a) of the Representation of the People Act 1951.
• According to the final publication of voter lists, there are a total of more than 5 crore 27 lakh voters in the state. There are more than 2 crore 75 lakh male voters and more than 2 crore 51 lakh female voters. There are also 1 lakh 41 thousand 898 service voters.
• There are a total of 51 thousand 756 polling stations in the state, out of which 10 thousand 415 are located in urban areas and 41 thousand 341 are located in rural areas. About 22 lakh young voters aged between 18 to 19 years will exercise their franchise for the first time.
• It is noteworthy that as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, for the first time in the state, the initiative of home voting has been started in the assembly general elections for senior citizens above 80 years of age and especially abled voters with more than 40 percent disability category. In these elections, more than 18.05 lakh voters will be able to get this facility as an option.
• As per the instructions of the Commission, live webcasting will be done at 26 thousand polling stations, more than 50 percent of the total polling stations in all the polling stations located in important polling stations and sensitive areas or including auxiliary polling stations.
• The Commission has increased the use of IT applications to bring greater participation and transparency. Complaints regarding violations of the Model Code of Conduct can be made through the cVIGIL App. You can get information about the candidate through the KYC app. Similarly, related information and facilities can also be obtained from the comfort of home through Voter Helpline App, Saksham App and Suvidha Portal.
• To increase gender equality and constructive participation of women in the election process, a total of 1600 polling centers run by women, a total of 200 by disabled people, a total of 1600 run by youth and 1600 model polling centers will be established in the state.
• For the first time in the state, all the eligible persons of Sahariya tribe included under PVTG category have been included in the voter list. There are a total of 77 thousand 343 voters in this category in the state.