The Election Commission on Sunday announced the schedule of assembly elections of four states and one Union Territory, under which Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will vote on a single day on April 9, West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and 29 and Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23.
Addressing a press conference held in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that counting of votes for all 824 seats in four states and one Union Territory will take place on May 4.
“Voting for all seats in Assam will be held on April 9. Voting in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29,” he said.
“Voting for all seats in Kerala and Puducherry will be held on April 9, while voting for all seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23,” Gyanesh Kumar said.
Kumar said elections should be free from violence or inducement and the Election Commission will take strict action against any violation. Let us tell you that along with Kumar, two Election Commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were also present.
It is noteworthy that with the announcement of the election programme, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect with immediate effect.
There are a total of 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, where DMK leader MK Stalin has been the chief minister since May 7, 2021. There are a total of 294 assembly seats in West Bengal, where TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has been in power since 2011.
There are a total of 140 assembly seats in Kerala, where Left leader Pinarayi Vijayan has been the Chief Minister since 2016 and leads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
Assam has 126 assembly seats and the BJP has been in power in the northeastern state since 2016 and Himanta Biswa Sarma is the Chief Minister since 2021. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy has been in power since 2021. The union territory has a total of 33 seats, including three members nominated by the Centre.