By election to Thangmeiband, Thongju ACs on Nov 21
Model code of conduct comes into force, ECI announces by election schedule
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 21 2015: The Election of Commission of India has notified that by election to Thangmeiband Assembly Constituency and Thongju Assembly Constituency will be held on November 21 along with two Parliamentary Constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

On the same day by election will also be held in one Assembly Constituency each at Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

The voting will be held on November 21 while the date of issue of gazette notification is October 28.The last date for submitting nomination papers is November 4 while scrutiny will be conducted on November 5 .

The last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 7 while the polling date has been fixed on November 21 .

By election to Thangmeiband, Thongju ACs on Nov 21 Model code of conduct comes into force, ECI announces by election schedule

The counting of votes has been fixed on November 24 while the date before which the election should be completed has been fixed on November 26 .

As in the past, the ECI has also made it mandatory to use Electronic Voting Machines in all the polling stations during the by election and all steps have been taken up for smooth conduct of the polls.

The ECI has also announced that the model of conduct in the Constituencies where the by election will be held has also come into force with immediate effect.

According to the Chief Election Office, the total number of voters in Thangmeiband AC is 25,114 including 13,687 female voters while the number of male voters is 12,570 .

In Thongju AC the total number of voters is 28,214 including 14,564 female voters and 13,650 male voters.

By election in the two Assembly Constituencies of Thangmeiband and Thongju was necessitated after the Speaker's Tribunal disqualified the then two sitting MLAs of Thangmeiband and Thongju under the anti-defection law on May 28 this year.

The Speaker had also disqualified the MLA of Wangoi Assembly Constituency, O Lukhoi the same day, that is May 28 this year, but following an appeal in the Court, the High Court of Manipur had ruled that the Wangoi seat was not vacant.

On the other hand, the then two MLAs of Thangmeiband AC and Thongju AC had announced that they would not approach the Court but instead go to the people who elected them earlier.

Significantly the Speaker had disqualified the three MLAs on the ground that they had formed a new political party of their own � namely AITC, Manipur State with a separate constitution from the Trinamool Congress.

A statement issued by the Assembly Secretariat on the day the disqualification order was issued said that the three MLAs have been disqualified under the 10th schedule of the Indian Constitution.

The three MLAs were elected to the 10th Manipur Assembly on All India Trinamool Congress tickets along with four other MLAs.

The MLAs had defected from their party to form the Manipur Pradesh Trinamool Congress with Th Joykishan as the president of the new party.

AITC Manipur Pradesh unit president Th Shyamkumar, who had also won the election from Andro Assembly Constituency, had lodged a complaint against the MLAs with the Speaker's Tribunal.

At the moment, Kh Joykishan and Th Bishorjit are in the race again this time and have already started hectic campaigning in their respective Constituencies.

Poll Schedule .

1) Date of issuing gazette notification : 28/10/2015 .

2) Last date of submitting nominations : 4/11/2015 .

3) Scrutiny of nomination papers : 5/11/2015 .

4) Last date of withdrawing cadidatures : 7/11/2015 .

5) Date of poll : 21/11/2015 .

6) Counting of votes : 24/11/2015 .

7) Date before which election shall be completed : 26/11/2015 .