ECI postpones crucial By-polls in Kerala, Punjab, UP with 14 key constituencies to November 20 amid public appeals

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Monday a shift in the by-poll schedule for 14 assembly constituencies, moving the voting date from November 13 to November 20. The affected constituencies span the states of Kerala, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, and this change aligns the by-polls with Maharashtra's assembly elections and the second phase of Jharkhand’s elections.

By-poll schedule change amidst social and cultural events

The ECI explained that this decision came in response to requests from several national and state political parties—including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)—as well as social organizations. These groups urged the ECI to reschedule due to various social, cultural, and religious engagements set for November 13, which they argued could lead to logistical challenges and hinder voter turnout.

ECI changes date of polling on 14 assembly constituencies going for bye-polls, revised polling on November 20,2024. pic.twitter.com/8VXEf8howr

— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) November 4, 2024

"Representations have been received in the Commission from various recognized national and state political parties and some social organizations for a change of date for poll in some Assembly constituencies having by-elections on 13th November, 2024, considering large-scale social, cultural, and religious engagements on that day which may cause inconvenience to a large number of people, give rise to various logistic issues, and may lead to reduced voters participating during the poll," stated the Election Commission.

List of affected constituencies

The constituencies that will now vote on November 20 are:

Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections to coincide with By-polls

The by-elections for these 14 constituencies will now take place alongside Maharashtra’s 288-member assembly elections on November 20. The ruling Mahayuti alliance—consisting of BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP—faces strong opposition from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. The MVA is composed of the INC, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP.