NEW DELHI: The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday set the ball rolling for the crucial state polls before the 2024 general elections next year announcing the the schedule of five States' Assembly elections for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram which would be held between November 7 and 30. 

As per the schedule Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram will vote in single phases, while polling in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases.

Voting for all 40 assembly seats in Mizoram will take place on November 7 along with the first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh on the same date. The remaining 70 seats in Chhattisgarh go to polls on November 17, alongside all 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh. While voting for all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23, the Telangana assembly will be the last to go to polls on November 30.

The counting of votes for all five States will take place on December 3. The total number of people eligible to vote in these 5 states is 16.14 crore and the youth are going to have a substantial participation in these upcoming elections. According to the election commission, there would be 60 lakh people eligible to vote for the first time. 15.39 lakh people are eligible to participate in elections due to amendments on qualifying dates. 

As a focus on involving the youth in the process of elections, the Chief Election Commissioner said that 2900 polling stations across the five states will be managed by youths, out of the total, 1.77 lakh polling booths that will be installed for the polls across also these states. The Election Commission will also ensure webcasting on 1.01 lakh polling stations, he said. 

Mizoram will have 1276 polling stations, Chhattisgarh 24,109 stations, Madhya Pradesh 64,523 stations, Rajasthan 51,756 and Telangana 35,356 stations. As an enhanced vigilance mechanism, the Election Commission will ensure webcasting on 1.01 lakh polling stations.

While the BJP and the Congress are the main contestants in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, in Telangana, it is a triangular fight between the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) the Congress and the BJP.