The EC has changed the poll date in Rajasthan. The reason might surprise you

The Election Commission on Wednesday moved the poll date in Rajasthan from 23 November to 25 November. The decision was made in light of the numerous social events and thousands of weddings that day. The EC had announced on Monday that voting for all 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan would take place on 23 November and that results would be released on 3 December. Let’s take a closer look. Wedding rush in Rajasthan Issuing a statement, the EC said, “The change in the date of the poll was made following representations from various political parties, social organisations and also issues raised in various media platforms considering large scale wedding/social engagement on that day which can cause inconvenience to a large number of people, various logistic issues and may lead to reduced voters participation during poll.” The former date coincided with Devuthani Ekadashi, which is considered auspicious by many people, as well as over 50,000 weddings are scheduled in the state. The business owners stated that holding elections on that day might reduce the number of voters. Ravi Jindal, president of the All India Tent Decorators’ Welfare Association, told PTI, “Dev Uthani Ekadashi is the most auspicious occasion for weddings and all Hindu castes prefer to hold weddings on this day. More than 50,000 weddings are expected to take place this year on Dev Uthani Ekadashi.” “In such a situation, a few lakh people will be directly or indirectly busy on the day of polling. Many may not be able to cast their votes due to being engaged in work or not being present at their polling booths on the day of voting," Jindal was quoted as saying by PTI. According to the report, Event manager Manish Kumar said: “On Dev Uthani Ekadashi, people go to other cities and districts as part of wedding parties. Similarly, caterers, electricians, florists, band parties and all others engaged in wedding-related work remain busy throughout the day and many of them may skip voting due to this." Earlier, PP Chaudhary, a BJP MP from Pali, wrote to the EC requesting that the date of the Rajasthan poll be changed because it falls on Dev Uthani Ekadashi. According to News18, Rajasthan BJP President CP Joshi said the people of Rajasthan have decided that there should be a double-engine government in the state. “PM Modi came to the state to inaugurate and lay the foundation of different projects. If you (Gehlot government) had worked for the state since 2018 then the exam paper leak would not have happened, farmers would not have committed suicide and there would be employment opportunities in the state,” he said. For the Assembly election, the election department has worked hard to enhance voter turnout. The chief election officer has set a goal of guaranteeing a 75 per cent voter turnout at each of the state’s 51,756 polling places. To entice individuals to cast their votes, a few new booths have been set up for a modest number of voters. Change of Rajasthan election dates

• Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: 30 October
• Last Date of Making Nominations: 6 November
• Last Date for Withdrawal of Candidatures Date of Poll: 9 November
• Date of Polling: 25 November
• Date of Counting: 3 December

Mizoram wants counting day to change Political parties in Mizoram have asked the electoral board to change the date for the upcoming Mizoram Assembly elections because they object to the choice of Sunday as the counting day, when most people in the Christian-majority state attend church services. The Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee’s president Lalsawta and the Joint Secretary of the Mizo National Front (MNF), B Lalmangaihzuala, requested a change in the date of the vote-counting procedure in separate applications to the EC, according to Economic Times. In a letter, Lalsawta said that Mizoram’s residents see Sunday as a holy day on which no formal events take place. The Congress party, he continued, as well as the entire Mizorami Christian community preferred that the vote-counting not take place on a Sunday. Lalnunmawia Chuangno, the former chief secretary of Mizoram and current candidate for the Aizawl North 1 seat, also voiced his disapproval of the ECI’s choice to conduct the vote-counting on a Sunday. “We have no issues with the polling dates and are ready to face the election. Nevertheless, we have serious reservations and objections to the choice of Sunday as the counting day by the Election Commission of India, as Sunday holds special significance for Mizo Christians,” he said. Assembly Elections 2023 poll dates announced The dates for the assembly elections in five states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram—were declared by the EC on Monday. Chhattisgarh will hold two phases of voting; the first phase will take place on 7 November. There will be a second phase on 17 November. Madhya Pradesh’s legislative elections are scheduled on 17 November. Mizoram will hold its election on 7 November and Telangana on 30 November in a single phase. Chief Election Commission (CEC) Rajiv Kumar revealed at a press conference that the vote counting process would take place in all five states on 3 December. In preparation for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, this was the final round of assembly elections. In the five assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, over 16 crore people would be able to cast a vote, according to Rajiv Kumar. These five states would have 1.77 lakh polling places, according to Kumar. Of these, 1.01 lakh stations would be equipped for webcasting. There will be more than 8,000 female poll workers. 8.2 crore men and 7.8 crore women will vote in the five states, according to the Election Commission. First-time voters comprise 60.2 lakh. When poll dates were changed in the past The EC moved the Kasba and Chinchwad by-elections in Maharashtra from 27 February to 26 February earlier this year. The choice was determined following the state’s graduation and Class 12 examinations. In Karnataka, CVoter conducted a survey-cumulative opinion poll in March of this year, urging the EC to modify the election’s scheduled date of May 10th. Up to 57 per cent of survey participants, according to the Times of India, were unhappy with the state government and demanded that the dates be adjusted. Corruption and unemployment were named by Kannadigas as the main causes. However, the elections took place on the same days, and Congress took back power after winning 135 seats. With inputs from agencies