Assembly polls in Punjab will be held on 30th January 2012 and the counting will take place on 4th March 2012. Punjab is gearing up for the Assembly elections in 2012 as the term of the present Assembly will be completed on 14th March 2012. There are 117 Assembly seats in Punjab Assembly and the last elections were held on 13th February 2007. Out of 117 constituencies, 29 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Punjab is predominantly a two party state with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress Party leading two alliances. Siromani Akali Dal led alliance which includes Bharatiay Janata Party (BJP) is presently in power with 67 seats followed by the opposition, Congress (INC) with 44 seats. There are 5 independents in the present Punjab Assembly. Communist parties do not have significant presence in the state. All the news channels will report exit polls for Punjab elections by the evening of 30th January 2012. Following are details of strengths of political parties in 2007 elections, Assembly Elections schedule 2012 for Punjab, Assembly Constituencies and candidates list of various parties:
Punjab Assembly Elections Schedule 2012:
1) Issue of Notification: January 2012
2) Last date for filing nominations: January 2012
3) Scrutiny of nominations: January 2012
4) Last date for withdrawal of nominations / candidature: January 2012
5) Date of poll: 30th March 2012
6) Counting of votes / Results: 4th March 2012
7) Date before which election process shall be completed: 9th March 2012.
Party wise strengths in the present Assembly (After 2007 Elections):
1) SAD+ (Shiromani Akali Dal Alliance): 67 seats (SAD 48 + BJP 19)
2) INC (Indian National Congress) : 44
3) IND (Independents) : 5
It will be a single phase poll in Punjab. Important political parties in Punjab are SAD, BJP, Congress, BSP, People’s Party of Punjab, Lok Sangharsh Morcha etc. Prakash Singh Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal is presently serving as Chief Minister of Punjab and this is his fourth term as CM of Punjab. Apart from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa are also going for Assembly elections in 2012. This Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will have huge impact on the political equations at the Central level.