New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) The Election Commission Monday decided to hold the by-election for the Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand Feb 21 along with the assembly elections in the state.
The by-poll was necessitated due to the death of Manabendra Shah on Jan 5, 2007.
In an official statement, the commission said the schedule for the by-election for the vacant seat would be the same as that for the upcoming state assembly elections.
Accordingly, while the notification for the Tehri Garhwal by-election would be issued Jan 25, the candidates would be able to file their nomination till Feb 1. The scrutiny of nominations would be held the following day and the candidates could withdraw their nominations till Feb 5.
The polling would be held Feb 21 and the counting will take place Feb 27.
When the assembly election for was announced Dec 29, the state's name still was Uttaranchal. But as the president early this month gave assent to the bill passed in the winter session of parliament to change the name, the commission referred to the state by its new name - Uttarakhand.