EC will issue notification for Telangana Assembly Election on 12 November, says Chief Electoral Officer

Hyderabad: The Election Commission would issue the notification for poll-bound Telangana on 12 November, Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar said Friday. “The notification for the polls will be announced on Monday (12 November)…We have called all the political parties to discuss various issues with regard to rules for filing of nominations and the Model Code of Conduct, among others,” he said at a press conference. [caption id=“attachment_5527351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Election Commission (EC) had on 6 October announced the election schedule for five states, including Telangana, which will go to the polls on 7 December. He said there would be over 32,574 polling stations in Telangana and some more may be set up, depending on the number of voters. As many as 10,280 polling stations in the state have been identified as critical, based on various parameters. Replying to a query, Kumar said that as of now, the commission did not apprehend any major disturbance during polls in Maoist-affected areas. Various agencies have so far seized Rs 64.35 crore in unaccounted cash and about Rs 5.16 crore worth illegal liquor during searches, he said. “Over 78,000 suspected trouble-mongers were bound over by police, 7,367 non-bailable warrants have been issued to people involved in cases and over 10,000 NBWs are yet to be executed,” he said. On the reported charges and counter charges between the caretaker irrigation Minister and Congress leader V Pratap Reddy, Rajat Kumar said they had issued notices to both the leaders, seeking an explanation. The Assembly polls were originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year. But the Assembly was dissolved on 6 September as per a recommendation by the state cabinet.