Voting for five Assembly elections will begin on March 27, with West Bengal conducting the maximum eight phases continuing till April 29, and votes for the polls in the four states and one Union Territory will be counted on May 2, the Election Commission said on Friday.
New Delhi:
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 for the five Assemblies are expected to witness a determined attempt by the BJP to put a strong show, including in Assam where it is already in power, as well as in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry where the saffron party has been pushing hard in recent years.
Elections in Assam will be conducted in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, while polling in Kerala will take place in a single phase on April 6.
Elections for the West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases, up from seven last time, beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27 till April 22, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said while announcing the poll schedule.
Arora also said everyone on election duty will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day. 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, while adequate CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) deployment will be ensured, Arora said.
All critical and vulnerable areas have been identified and advance teams have been already deployed across the four states and one union territory, he added.
He 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.
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