5 assembly polls to begin Mar 27, WB to have 8 phases, counting on May 2

As many as 186 million voters will be eligible to cast their votes at 270,000 polling stations for 824 assembly seats across Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

Voting for five assembly elections will begin on March 27, with West Bengal hosting eight phases over a month, while votes in the four states and one union territory will be counted on May 2, the Election Commission said on Friday.

As many as 18.68 crore voters will be eligible to cast their votes at 2.7 lakh polling stations for 824 assembly seats across Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The elections are expected to witness a determined attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to put a strong show, including in Assam where it is in power, as well as in the rest where the party has been pushing hard.

Elections in Assam will be conducted in three phases, while polling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will take place in a single phase on April 6. In West Bengal, the elections will be held in eight phases, up from seven last time, starting on March 27, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said while announcing the schedule (see table).

Opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress (TMC) questioned the need for an eight-phase election in West Bengal even as BJP leaders welcomed it.

Expressing her displeasure, TMC head and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “With all due respect to the Election Com­mission, I want to say that questions are being raised on why elections will be held in so many phases in Bengal while other states will be voting in one phase. If EC doesn’t provide justice to the people, where will the people go.”

“I have information from my sources that the poll dates are similar to the ones BJP wanted. Have the dates been announced as per the suggestions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Min­ister Amit Shah?” she asked at a press conference in Kolkata.

The Election Commission will appoint two special observers for West Bengal and a third can also be sent if required, Arora said in response to queries on whether enough arrangements are in place in the state, where questions have been raised over political violence.

Arora also said everyone on el­ection duty will be vaccinated ag­ainst Covid-19 before polling day.

Voting will take place for 126 seats in Assam, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 294 in West Bengal, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry.

Arrangements will be put in place for candidates to file their nominations online. Voting will be allowed for an additional hour, keeping in mind Covid-19 safety guidelines, he said.

Also, webcasting arrangements will be in place at polling stations in critical and vulnerable areas, Arora said. Door-to-door campaigning will be restricted to five persons, including the candidate, while roadshows will be allowed with a maximum of five vehicles.