The Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will begin on March 27 and the counting of votes for all five states/UT will take place on May 2, the Election Commission announced on Friday. Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases.
Here statewise we bring you the schedule for the upcoming elections.
Tamil Nadu
The state of Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 6, the Election Commission announced on Friday. The counting of votes and declaration of results will happen on May 2, simultaneously with other poll bound states.
The issue of notification for the election will happen on March 12. The last date for nomination is March 19. The scrutiny of nominations will take place the next day and candidates have time up to March 22 to withdraw their names.
The 234-seat Tamil Nadu assembly's current term comes to an end in May. In the 2016 election, the AIADMK won 134 seas, the DMK got 89 and the Congress eight. For the AIADMK, 2016 brought a second straight victory.
Kerala
The single-phased election in Kerala will be held on April 6 with the counting of votes on May 2. Polls will be held in 140 seats in Kerala, where the BJP is yet to make inroads.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) has a total number of 140 seats, of which, 14 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
Assam
The Assembly polls will be held in Assam in three phases - on March 27, April 4 and April 6.
Term of Assam assembly ends on May 31 while 8 seats are reserved for SC and 16 seats are reserved for ST out of total 126 assembly seats.
The Election Commission has appointed Ashok Kumar as a special police observer for Assam. "In Assam in 2016, the polling stations were 24,890 and in 2021, there will be 33,530. The percentage increase in polling stations is 35.71%," Arora said.
The BJP had created history in 2016 elections by winning Assam, making it first north-eastern state to be governed by the saffron party. The BJP had ousted the Congress after its 15-year uninterrupted rule. The BJP had alone won 60 seats in the 126-member Assembly.
Puducherry
Voting for Puducherry assembly election will take place in a single phase on April 6. As per the Election Commission, counting of votes will be on May 2.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that for the Union Territory, March 19 will be the last date for nominations, March 20 for scrutiny and March 22 for the withdrawal of candidature.
