Monday, January 10 2005 10:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Notifications were issued today (Jan 10, 2005) marking the beginning of next month's crucial Assembly polls in Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The Governors of the three States issued the notifications setting the stage for filing of nominations.

The first phase, polling for which will take place on February 3, would cover the entire 90 seats in Haryana, naxal-affected 64 constituencies out of a total of 243 seats in Bihar and 24 of 81 seats in Jharkhand.

The second phase of polling in Bihar and Jharkhand would be held on February 15 and third phase on February 23.

For the first phase of polling, the last date for filing nominations is January 17 and the scrutiny will take place the next day. The last date for withdrawal of candidatures is January 20 and counting of votes in all the States will be taken up on February 27.

The terms of Bihar and Jharkhand Assemblies are scheduled to expire on March 6 and in Haryana on March 8. This will be the first Assembly election in Jharkhand, which became a State in 2000.

The election notifications for the second and third phases of polling in Bihar and Jharkhand will be issued on January 20 and 29.

While polling in the three States will be conducted through Electronic Voting Machines, the Model Code of Conduct, providing for a level-playing field to all the political parties and to check populist announcements of the incumbent Governments, is already in force since December 17 when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.

In the second phase, elections will be held in 101 seats of Bihar and 29 in Jharkhand. In the third phase, 93 constituencies in Bihar and 28 in Jharkhand will go to polls.

The poll schedule in Bihar and Jharkhand was worked out by the Election Commission taking into account the law and order situation there and all other relevant factors, including availability of Central Para-military forces.