By IANS,
Chandigarh : The process of elections to the Punjab assembly officially began Thursday with Governor Shivraj Patil issuing the notification under the Representation of the People Act for the Jan 30 polls for 117 assembly seats.
With the notification now issued, those who want to contest can file their nominations, a spokesperson of the election office said here Thursday.
The last date for filing of nominations is Jan 12 and the last date for withdrawal is Jan 16.
Jan 30 will be the day of polling for all seats, the spokesman added. Voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The counting of votes would take place March 4 and the election process would be completed by March 9.
The main contest is between the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine and the Congress. With the newly floated People’s Party of Punjab, led by former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also in the fray, the contest in many constituencies will be triangular or multi-cornered.