Punjab Assembly election 2022: Voting in single phase on February 14; results on March 10

The Election Commission of India in a press conference on Saturday announced the polling dates for the upcoming Punjab Assembly Elections.

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday (January 8, 2022) announced the dates for the Assembly elections in Punjab. 

According to the announcement, the Punjab Assembly Elections for 117 constituencies of the state will take place on February 14, 2022. The election results for Punjab Assembly will be announced on March 10, 2022. The Election Commission announced the Assembly poll dates for Punjab in a press conference which was held in Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi today.

Additionally, the Election Commission of India also announced the Assembly poll dates for the four other states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Manipur and Goa, today. Out of these five poll-bound states, the BJP is in power in 4 states including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

The term of the current Punjab assembly elected in 2017 will expire on 27 March 2022. At present, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is being led by Indian National Congress’s Charanjit Singh Channi, who took over the position from Captain Amarinder Singh after a high voltage political drama involving Navjot Singh Sidhu unfolded. 

This year’s Assembly polls will also witness a new entry as farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni floated his political party Sanyukt Sangharsh Party to contest the Punjab assembly polls. 

EC announced the dates for elections a day after the Commission was briefed by the government on the COVID-19 situation in the country and particularly the threat posed by the fast-spreading Omicron strain.

Amid the surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country, the Election Commission said that all necessary arrangements would be made to ensure the elections are conducted safely. This includes thermal scanning and sanitisation of the polling booths. 

Earlier, the Chief Election Commissioner of India Sushil Chandra said that 165 exclusively women-run polling booths and 57 polling booths managed by people with disabilities would be set up for the election in Punjab.

In order to boost the voter turnout in the upcoming elections in the state, the officials has directed officials to make proper arrangements at all polling stations for disabled and elderly voters above the age of 80. Elderly voters will be brought to the polling stations free of cost. The option to vote from home will also be made available to those above the age of 80.

In the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, the Indian National Congress had won 77 out of 117 total seats. This landslide victory pushed the ruling alliance between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to third place with only 18 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came in second, winning 20 seats and forming the official opposition in Punjab.