The Election Commission on Friday, 26 February announced the dates for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
While elections in Assam will be held in three phases, West Bengal will have polling in 8 phases. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will have polling in a single phase on 6 April.
Assam and West Bengal will be the first states to go to polls beginning 27 March. The results of the elections will be announced on 2 May.
The exact dates are as following:
West Bengal
- No of phases: 8
- Dates: 27 March, 1 April, 6 April, 10 April, 17 April, 22 April, 26 April, 29 April
Assam
- No of phases: 3
- Dates: 27 March, 1 April, 6 April
Kerala
- No of phases: 1
- Date: 6 April
Tamil Nadu
- No of phases: 1
- Date: 6 April
Puducherry
- No of phases: 1
- Date: 6 April
“A total of 824 assembly constituencies shall be going for polls during these elections. 18.68 crore electors will cast vote at 2.7 lakh polling stations in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry,” Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner of India, said while addressing the media.
Polling Has Been a Challenge During the Pandemic: EC
In the beginning of the address, Arora paid tributes to the COVID-19 warriors, doctors, paramedics, nurses, researchers, scientists and all officials on election duty amid the pandemic.
“In the thick of the pandemic, ECI started test trials with elections to 18 seats to the Rajya Sabha. After that, came the challenge of the Bihar elections, it was indeed a watershed moment for ECI. It proved to be a litmus test,” Arora said.
Arora said that adequate CAPFs shall be deployed during elections.
“All critical, vulnerable polling stations identified and an adequate number of CAPFs will be deployed,” he said.
The Politics in the 4 States and 1 UT
In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of Mamata Banerjee is locked in a bitter tussle against an emergent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marked by acrimonious campaigning and a string of defections. The Left-Congress alliance is also contesting the elections.
Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, will witness a multi-cornered contest, with the major players being the AIADMK-BJP on one side, and the DMK-Congress on the other. The arrival of former AIADMK leader Sasikala in the state after her release from jail recently has further generated speculation on how the elections will pan out.
In Kerala, the ruling LDF of Pinarayi Vijayan is pitched against the Congress-led UDF, while in Assam, the BJP-led government of Sarbananda Sonowal will be looking to ward off the challenge posed by the Congress and its allies.
In Puducherry, the Congress-led government of V Narayanasamy recently fell as it lost the majority after the resignation of several members in the last one month, some of whom have joined the BJP.
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