The Election Commission of India will announce the schedule for the upcoming assembly polls in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab at 3:30 PM today. With the announcement of the dates, the Model of Code of Conduct will kick in.

Officials of the Commission reviewed the situation caused by the Omicron variant in the country with health officials in the past week.

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra had given an indication of not deferring the election on 30th December when he said that all political parties were in favour of holding polls on time. He stated that the commission had told poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab to speed up vaccination so that 100% of those eligible had received the first dose at least.

Last month the Allahabad High Court had asked the Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defer the polls keeping in the view the situation caused by the Omicron variant. Similar concerns were raised by the Uttarakhand High Court when it asked if rallies could be held virtually and a possibility of people voting online.

India today reported over 1.41 lakh new Covid-19 cases, up 21 per cent from yesterday and its highest tally in 8 months.

EC To Announce Dates For Assembly Polls In 5 States