With COVID protocols intact, nominations for 1st phase of UP Assembly elections 2022 begin today!

Ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the filing of nominations for the first phase of elections in 11 districts of UP begins today. Notably, the election will be held for 58 seats in Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra in the first phase.

As per Ajay Kumar Shukla, the Chief Electoral Officer of UP, in view of the rising coronavirus cases in the state, the filing of nomination will be done in line with all the COVID-mandated guidelines set by the Election Commission of India.

Candidates can file nominations online

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To avoid overcrowding, only two people are allowed to escort the candidate to the returning officer's room at the time of filing the nomination papers. Meanwhile, candidates have the option to file their nominations online via the Suvidha App and then submit a copy of the application to the returning officer in person.

In sync with the stipulated COVID protocols set by the ECI, no applicant is permitted to take out processions during the filing process. Moreover, the applicants can not use more than two vehicles at the time of filing the nomination papers, informed the Chief Electoral Officer of UP. According to reports, the Election Commission of India has fixed the timings for polling from 7 AM to 6 PM.

Talking about the mission of ECI, Ajay Kumar Shukla said, "The Election Commission is committed to holding free, fair, inclusive, peaceful and COVID-safe polling in the state."

Scrutiny of nominations to take place on January 24

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While the filing of papers begins today, January 21 is the last date for submitting nomination papers for the first phase of elections. Reportedly, the scrutiny of nominations is scheduled to take place on January 24, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is January 27.

As per the election schedule released by the ECI, polling in all of the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be carried out in 7 phases. Citizens in the aforementioned 58 Assembly seats are all set to cast their votes in the first leg of the polling process. Out of these 58 seats, nine are reserved for scheduled castes, as per the existing mandate.

-with inputs from IANS