Counting on March 6 as Feb 4 UP polls shifted to March 3

In a minor change in the election schedule for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh,the Election Commission of India has announced to hold the elections to 60 Assembly constituencies

In a minor change in the election schedule for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh,the Election Commission of India has announced to hold the elections to 60 Assembly constituencies,which were part of the first phase of polls,on March 3 now instead of February 4 as announced earlier.

A formal notification for the February 4 elections was slated to be issued on January 10. But the Commission decided to change the schedule for these 60 constituencies after the state poll machinery indicated that the Muslim festival of Barawafat might clash with the date.

According to the revised schedule,the formal notification will be issued on February 6,after which candidates can file their papers by February 13.

Nominations can be withdrawn by February 16 after which the polling will take place on March 3. In the latest schedule,the counting will take place on March 6 instead of March 4.

The election schedule for other (six) phases will remain the same,except for the date of counting,which shall now be March 6,2012, the EC said on Monday.

With four other states Manipur,Punjab,Uttarakhand and Goa also going to polls,their counting date also stands postponed to March 6,because the counting of all five states are to take place on the same day.