New Delhi, Oct. 1 : Scheduled meetings of the Union Cabinet were cancelled on Thursday in deference to the Model Code of Conduct introduced ahead of this month''s assembly elections in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

Sources said that meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI), which were scheduled for this afternoon, were cancelled in the wake of the Election Commission of India''s (ECI) decision to have the Model Code of Conduct in place less than a fortnight before the polls in these three states.

Elections are to be held on October 13. Counting of votes will take place on October 22.

Last month, the three-member EC reviewed preparations for the polls and briefed 470 poll observers appointed for Maharashtra and Haryana on the do''s and don''ts to be followed by them for smooth conduct of the polls.

The Commission also briefed 40 observers of Arunachal Pradesh. (ANI)