Soon after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates of the upcoming assembly polls, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that the polls will decide the future of Punjab and urged people to participate "in the carnival of democracy" with full spirit while observing all COVID related protocols.
"Sooner the better. We are all set for the Big Day that will decide the future of Punjab. I appeal to the people to participate in the carnival of democracy with full spirit while at the same time observing all COVID related protocols," he said in a tweet.
Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress had announced an alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Sanyukt.
Voting for Punjab assembly elections will be held in a single phase on February 14, the Election Commission said on Saturday.
Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases, the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed that senior citizens above 80 years of age, persons with disabilities and COVID-19 patients can vote by postal ballots.
Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh are slated to go for Assembly elections this year. 403 Assembly seats are slated to go to polls in Uttar Pradesh, 70 seats are up for grabs in Uttarakhand, 117 seats in Punjab, 40 seats in Goa and 60 seats in Manipur.
The Election results for the assembly polls will be declared on March 10.
Out of these 5 poll-bound states, the BJP is in power in 4 states including Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is in power in Punjab.
Leaders from all the political parties have been campaigning aggressively since months to register their win in the upcoming polls.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor