The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
As per the schedule, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will go to polls on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will vote on April 27. West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29, the poll panel said. The results for all five elections will be announced on May 4.
The announcement was made during a press conference addressed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
Kumar said, “During the recent 12 months, the Election Commission of India has taken more than 30 new initiatives to ensure that elections are more transparent, the experience to the electors is much, much more pleasant, and all the stakeholders get all the necessary information as soon as possible. The first one of them has been the Special Intensive Revision, which ensures that no eligible voter shall be excluded, while at the same time no ineligible person should be included. Amongst the new initiatives, just outside the gate of the polling station, an elector can go, deposit his or her mobile, go and vote inside, come out and collect the mobile and go back."
“In order to identify the candidate to whom the elector wants to select, there shall be a coloured photograph of all the candidates on the EVMs. In order to ensure that there are no long queues, not more than 1,200 electors shall be at any polling station. The candidate booths can be set up just outside 100 meters of the polling station. And the voter information slip will have a clear number mentioning the voter’s polling station, its number, and their part and serial number," he said.
“Among the other new initiatives, one major initiative has been that all the applications of the Election Commission of India now are under one app which is applicable on mobile, available on mobile, and it is called as ECI-NET. All the necessary information across all the stakeholders is available, whether it is your epic card, whether it is your polling station, whether it is about the candidate, whether it is about the affidavits of the candidate, whether it is about the progress of polling which is taking place, or whether it is about counting…," said the CEC.
The complete list for West Bengal has not been published yet. The Chief Election Commissioner said that as names come onto the adjudication list according to court orders in Bengal, those names will be added to the voter list.
On the two phases, Kumar said, “With regards to the West Bengal elections to be held in two phases instead of eight phases earlier, the Commission has held detailed deliberations and in its considered opinion, it was found necessary to reduce the number of phases and bring it down to an extent where it is convenient for everybody…"
He also says, “With regards to the police officers who were involved in the violence in earlier elections, the list has been sought, as is known to the media during our visit to West Bengal, and necessary action as per law shall be taken… With regards to the supplementary list, as per the orders of the Supreme Court, the learned judges working under the directions of the High Court of Calcutta would be bringing out this supplementary list and as and when the supplementary list of names are coming out, they shall be included in addition to the existing electors…"
The contest will mainly be BJP versus Trinamool Congress (TMC). The BJP’s rise from a marginal presence to the principal challenger to the TMC has fundamentally altered the political equation. At the same time, Mamata Banerjee’s hold over the state has remained resilient despite repeated challenges, making the coming election a test of whether that dominance can continue, or fade.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, “West Bengal will vote against the central government’s politics of revenge, the politics of depriving Bengal, the insult to the Bengali language, the insult to the people of Bengal, and against those who are harassing people in the name of SIR. The BJP will lose even more badly. TMC will win more than 250 seats. Mamata Banerjee will return to power with more than 250 MLAs…"
BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh said, “We are ready for the change in West Bengal. Our PM announced the countdown to the TMC government and to a new government that will work for the betterment of the state… BJP will bring the true change in the state and a new Bengal will fulfil the aspirations of people in the state…"
The term of the West Bengal Assembly ends on May 7.
In Tamil Nadu, the battle is expected to centre on the long-standing rivalry between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), with actor-turned-neta Vijay’s new political outfit, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), as a potential disruptor in the state’s entrenched Dravidian political order.
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said, “Today, the Election Commission has clearly said that no ineligible voter will be allowed and no eligible voter will be omitted. This is great news for all voters as we go to the people…This time, we are going forward with a cleansed voter list. We have adequate time, and with anti-incumbency present, we are very hopeful of coming out with flying colours…"
The state will vote in single phase on April 23, with counting on May 4.
For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam election will see a bid to retain power for a second consecutive term. They are facing a fragmented opposition, led by the Congress. The state will cast votes on April 9, with results on May 4.
Assam BJP President Dilip Saikia said, “…The BJP is fully prepared, and people have complete faith in Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Congress party attempted to change the demographics of Assam by supporting Bangladeshi infiltrators. The people of Assam will respond…"
Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “The Home Minister’s programME in Guwahati ended at 3 PM, and the election announcement will be made at 4 PM. The entire country is watching this duet between the Election Commission and the BJP…The people of Assam have made up their minds that they will vote for change this time."
Kerala, which was recently rechristened as Keralam, will vote in a single phase on April 9. The votes for the 140-member assembly will be counted on May 4.
The poll will see a contest between the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), with the BJP attempting to expand its footprint.
CPI MP P Sandosh said, “We are all set to repeat the victory. The candidate seats are finalised and will be announced shortly… Our candidates are already active in the field… The opposition is creating total chaos. The state will see hectic campaigning by the LDF in the coming times… We will record history by retaining power for the third term…"
The Union Territory of Puducherry will vote on April 9. The term of the current government in Puducherry will end on June 15. The results will be announced on May 4.
While the Congress is fighting the polls in an alliance with DMK and CPI, the opposition consisted of All India NR Congress, BJP and AIADMK.
Kumar said, “Bypolls will be held on 8 Assembly Constituencies in Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Tripura. The assembly constituencies for Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura will vote on April 9 and for the assembly constituencies of Gujarat and Maharashtra will vote on April 23. The counting shall be on May 4."
