Assembly election 2021 dates for Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to be announced shortly

The Election Commission is likely to announce the polling dates for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala at 4.30 pm on Friday (February 26).

Along with the election dates, the Election Commission is expected to announce a strict COVID-19 protocol to ensure minimum transmission during polling amid the recent surge in the coronavirus outbreak. It is also likely to announce measures to manage increased security risk due to rising political temperatures in poll-bound states.

The West Bengal Assembly has a total of 294 seats and the term of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government comes to an end on May 30. Apart from West Bengal, the tenure of the state governments in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are ending in May and June. In Puducherry, the President's rule has been imposed after the Congress-led government fell following Chief Minister V Narayanasamy's resignation before the vote of confidence.

Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam and 30 seats in Puducherry.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, elections will be held simultaneously in several states for the first time. Given the state of the pandemic, the number of polling stations in these states is likely to increase. Earlier, the Election Commission organized the assembly elections in Bihar in October-November last year, where the number of polling stations was increased to ensure social distancing.