ECI announces dates for Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Puducherry
NEW DELHI, MAR 15 : The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the crucial Assembly elections in four states –West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam–and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will go to the polls in single phase on April 9. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
All 234 constituencies of Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23, while the counting will take place on May 4.
In West Bengal the elections will be conducted in two phases. Of the total 294 Assembly constituencies, 152 will go to the polls on April 23 while the remaining 142 will vote on April 29. The counting will be held on May 4.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said a total of 17.4 crore voters are eligible to vote in elections to the five assemblies with 824 constituencies. The voting will be held at 2.19 lakh polling stations across four states and one UT with 25 lakh election officials on duty.
The average number of electors per polling station is 750-900 across Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the CEC said.
Kumar also highlighted the importance of the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The CEC congratulated the BLOs and other election officials for their work.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were also present during the briefing.
Responding to questions on the number of phases in West Bengal being reduced to two from eight in 2021, the CEC said the commission has had “detailed deliberation and in its considered opinion it was found necessary to reduce the number of phases to an extent where it is convenient for everybody.”
Asked about the announcement of freebies by different governments ahead of elections, the CEC said the governments can take any policy decision in their wisdom before polls are announced, but any inducement is not allowed during the model code of conduct.
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is aiming for a fourth consecutive term, while the BJP is pushing hard to wrest power. The elections follow the political turmoil and protests against alleged arbitrary deletion of voters through the SIR exercise. Mamata has been raising serious allegations against the ECI and CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR. The CM, along with her party and other petioners has also challenged the matter in the Supreme Court.
In Tamil Nadu, the alliance led by DMK and consisting of Congress, Left parties and other regional parties, under the leadership of CM MK Stalin, is seeking a second term. They face opposition from the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Actor-politician Vijay has also entered the fray with his newly launched party, TVK, adding a fresh dynamic to the contest.
Kerala is gearing up for a traditional Left versus Congress battle. CPM veteran Pinarayi Vijayan is aiming for a third consecutive term, while the Congress hopes to leverage its strong performance in the local body elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. However, the Congress is facing challenges, including internal conflicts over canditature.
In Assam, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is eyeing a second term in power. The Congress, led by Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior leader Gaurav Gogoi, is hoping for a comeback even as the party saw some prominant leaders exiting its fold, including former state president Bhupen Borah.
Puducherry will witness a contest between the All India NR Congress-led NDA alliance and the DMK. Chief Minister N Rangasamy is eyeing a fourth term while seat-sharing talks are progressing with the AIADMK.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry went to the polls in a single phase in their last assembly polls. Assam, in the last assembly elections, had voted in three phases. In West Bengal, the polls were conducted in eight phases in 2021.
-PTI
