The election commission is considering to club the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Goa with those in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur and complete them by February end, according to a highly place Election Commission source.

The elections can be spread over two months on five different dates in January and February and the counting can be done only after completing all rounds of the polling, said the said, who requested anonymity.

He said a final decision on the dates would be taken in a fortnight and an announcement may be expected in the second half of November. The code of conduct will come into force from the day of the announcement.

The 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly's tenure is up to May 20 and that of the 40-member Goa assembly is up to June 14, but the poll panel has indicated to the centre that it is not inclined to hold these two elections separately after conducting one round in the three states where the assembly terms end in March.

The tenure of the 70-member Uttarakhand assembly is up to March 12, that of the 117-member Punjab assembly up to March 14 and that of the 60-member Manipur assembly up to March 15.
"We plan to complete the elections at least one or two weeks ahead of completion of their terms," the source said.

Punjab and Uttarakhand may go to polls in the first phase as early as in second or third week of January, followed by elections in Goa and Manipur also by January end or early February. The polling in Uttar Pradesh is planned in three or four phases, depending on the availability of the paramilitary forces.

Home Secretary R K Singh called on the EC a few days ago to discuss the security arrangements for the elections when he was conveyed the poll panel’s decision to hold all upcoming assembly elections as also by-elections in some states together.

Chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi, accompanied by election commissioners V S Sampath and H S Brahma, discussed with Singh the security arrangements they want to ensure a free and fair poll and gave him an indicative list of dates on which the EC intends to hold the polling, the source added.

He said the EC wanted to complete the polls at an early date to ensure school examinations and the harvesting season were not affected. Only difficulty is in Uttar Pradesh where the polls may begin in January and continue in February.

The Congress appears to have the inkling of early elections in Uttar Pradesh and not in April-May to complete them before the present assembly's term expires as it has already announced candidates for nearly two-third seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also in an overdrive in Uttar Pradesh, busy with two yatras as part of the advance poll campaign.

Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat and his Manipur counterpart Okram Ibobi Singh, both of the Congress, also recently called on party chief Sonia Gandhi to convey their preparedness for elections in February.

Uttar Pradesh CM Mayavati and Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal have already increased the pace of inaugurations and announcements of various schemes before the poll code of conduct comes into force to improve chances of their Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Akali Dal respectively.

Uttarakhand CM Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, who took over the reins only last month, is desperate to get three landmark bills passed to regain the ground the BJP lost because of the rampant corruption during the tenure of his predecessor Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank during his two-year stint.

Khanduri, who was also the chief minister during 2007-09, the first two years after the last elections ousting the Congress government of ND Tiwari, has already got the Lokayukta bill passed to bring the CM under its orbit. Three other bills he is trying to push through are: Public Service Bill to ensure hassle-free public services to common man, Special Court Bill to put check on amassing of illegal wealth and 'benami' properties by the government servants, and Public Servant Annual Transfer Bill to compel the reluctant bureaucrats to compulsorily render services for a stipulated period in remote areas of the state.