The Election Commission of India is likely to announce the election schedule in poll-bound states and one union territory on Sunday. The Election Commission has called a press conference at 4 pm. It is noteworthy that assembly elections are going to be held in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.
In these four States and one Union Territory, special intensive revision of voter lists has already been conducted and the final voter lists have been published.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi visited West Bengal on March 10 to review the election preparations in the state. He had also visited other states where elections are going to be held to prepare for the elections.
There are a total of 294 seats in the West Bengal Assembly, in which the main contest is between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been in power in the state since 2011.
In Assam, there will be a contest for 126 assembly seats between the ruling BJP-led NDA government and the Congress.
The main contest in Kerala is between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) for 140 seats. At the same time, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has also entered the fray against both these alliances.
The BJP plans to contest around 100 seats in Kerala, while its allies Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and the Twenty20 alliance will contest the remaining 40 seats.
Political parties are intensifying their election campaign activities for the 234 seats of the Tamil Nadu Assembly and are finalizing seat sharing arrangements within their respective alliances.
Elections will be held for all 30 constituencies of the 16th Assembly in Puducherry. Congress is contesting the elections in alliance with DMK and CPI, while the opposition includes All India NR Congress, BJP and AIADMK.
The Election Commission of India earlier this month reviewed the electoral preparedness for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
According to a release, the Election Commission has appointed Central Observers to assist the Commission in conducting fair and free elections in exercise of the full powers conferred under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. These observers also monitor the efficient and effective management of the electoral process at the grassroots level.