EC announces Assembly election schedule for 4 states & 1 UT; Polling from April 9 to 29, counting on May 4

The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The poll panel, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, declared the dates during a press conference at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Polling will be held from April 9 to April 29, while the counting of votes will take place on May 4.

The terms of the Assemblies in these states and the Union Territory will end between May and June. The term of the West Bengal Assembly ends on May 7, Tamil Nadu on May 10, Assam on May 20, Kerala on May 23 and Puducherry on June 15.

The elections are considered crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party as it offers the ruling party at the Centre yet another chance to make its presence felt in the three states where it has never been able to replicate the successes it had enjoyed elsewhere in the country: West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

In Bengal, the BJP is aiming to wrest power. Here, the INDIA bloc parties like the Congress and CPM are not part of the collation led by the ruling Trinamool Congress. In 2021, the BJP had established itself as the chief opposition in Bengal.

However, in the other two states, the party wants to emerge as the third major political force. In Tamil Nadu, it is now in alliance with AIADMK. In 2021, it had won four seats, and in 2016, then with the DMK-led coalition, had also won four seats. This time, the presence of actor Vijay's Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam has intensified the uncertainty. The alliances have still not solidified.

But in Kerala, though it has recently struck a deal with Twenty20, the BJP still has not been able to strike an alliance with a major political party.

Currently, the NDA is in power in Assam and Puducherry, the Trinamool Congress governs West Bengal, the Left Democratic Front rules Kerala, and the DMK-led alliance is in power in Tamil Nadu.

Kerala
Date of Notification of polls: March 16
Last date for nominations: March 23
Scrutiny of nominations: March 24
Last date for withdrawal: March 26
Date of voting: April 9
Counting of votes: May 4

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) returned to power with a decisive victory, winning 99 out of 140 seats. Pinarayi Vijayan was sworn in as Chief Minister for a second consecutive term. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured 41 seats, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance failed to retain the lone seat it had won in the 2016 elections.

Assam
Date of Notification of polls: March 16
Last date for nominations: March 23
Scrutiny of nominations: March 24
Last date for withdrawal: March 26
Date of voting: April 9
Counting of votes: May 4

Elections will be held for 126 Assembly constituencies in Assam. The BJP-led government will be aiming for a third consecutive term, while the Congress is seeking to return to power after losing the state in 2016.

In the current Assembly, the BJP has 64 MLAs, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) — have nine, seven and three members respectively. In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) 15, and the CPI(M) one legislator, along with an Independent.

West Bengal
Phase 1
Date of Notification of polls: March 30
Last date for nominations: April 6
Scrutiny of nominations: April 7
Last date for withdrawal: April 9
Date of voting: April 23
Counting of votes: May 4

Phase 2
Date of Notification of polls: April 2
Last date for nominations: April 9
Scrutiny of nominations: April 10
Last date for withdrawal: April 13
Date of voting: April 29
Counting of votes: May 4

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress currently holds a dominant position in the 294-member Assembly with 213 seats.

In the 2021 elections, the party secured about 47.94% of the vote share and retained a comfortable majority. The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the principal opposition, winning 77 seats with a vote share of around 38.13%. The Left Front and the Congress saw a steep decline in support, with the CPI(M) securing around 4.72% vote share and the Congress 2.94%.

Puducherry
Date of Notification of polls: March 16
Last date for nominations: March 23
Scrutiny of nominations: March 24
Last date for withdrawal: March 26
Date of voting: April 9
Counting of votes: May 4

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the All India N R Congress (AINRC)-led NDA formed the government after winning 16 out of 30 seats, with N Rangaswamy becoming Chief Minister. In the final tally, the DMK won six seats, Independents secured six, and the Congress won two seats.

Tamil Nadu
Date of Notification of polls: March 30
Last date for nominations: April 6
Scrutiny of nominations: April 7
Last date for withdrawal: April 9
Date of voting: April 23
Counting of votes: May 4

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK returned to power after a decade. The party, led by Chief Minister M K Stalin, won 133 of the 234 seats on its own, securing a clear majority in the Assembly. The Congress, a key ally in the DMK-led alliance, contested 25 seats and won 18. The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), which contested six seats on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol, won four seats.

In Tamil Nadu, Actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to emerge as a new political force in the upcoming elections.