India: Election dates for 5 states announced; 7-phase polls in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) The state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India will have its legislative assembly elections in seven phases from February 4 to 28, while four other states - Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab - will have single-phase elections, the country's Election Commission announced today. Counting in all the five states will be taken up on March 4, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi told a press conference here. UP, India's most populous state with 403 seats in its legislative assembly, will witness polling on February 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 28, while the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand with 70 assembly constituencies will have polling on January 30. The polling for the 117 seats of Punjab, another northern state, will also be on January 30. The northeastern state of Manipur with 60 constituencies and the western state of Goa with 40 constituencies will have polls on January 28 and March 3 respectively. The Code of Conduct has come into effect in the five election bound states with immediate effect preventing the state governments from announcing any sops or policy measures. The system of government in India is federal and parliamentary. Separate elections are held for the national Parliament and for the legislative assemblies of states every five years. The previous election for the legislative assemblies of these five states had taken place in 2007. PTI Caption for pic: India's Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi flanked by Election Commissioners V S Sampath (R) and H S Brahma addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday to announce the dates for the Assembly elections in five states. PTI Photo