The states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will witness their general elections this year, and the Election Commission has dropped the notification for these states today. The elections will commence on March 27th, and the final results will be announced on May 2nd.
The election code is set to be implemented in these states from today, and the elections will be held for 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 140 in Kerala, 126 in Assam and 30 in Puducherry, and it is estimated that there are over 18.68 Crore voters in these states. More than one lakh polling stations have been set up in Bengal, 89 lakh in Tamil Nadu, 40 lakh in Kerala, 33 lakh in Assam and 1500 in Puducherry, and on account of Coronavirus, all safety precautions are being put in place.
Special arrangements are being made for those who are Coronavirus positive, and provisions are being made so that nominations would be accepted online as well. Special Roadshows are expected to be given permission, because of the fear of the spreading of Coronavirus. Apart from these, by-elections will also be held for 34 assembly seats in 16 states, and a special notification will be issued for these.
In Assam, the elections will be held in three phases. The first phase of polling will be held on March 27th, the second phase on April 1st and the third phase on April 6th. In Kerala, the elections will be held in a single phase, and the polling will be held on April 6th. Elections in Tamil Nadu will take place in a single phase, and they will occur on April 6th. Puducherry will also have a single phase of elections, on April 6th. In West Bengal, the elections will be held in the state in a total of 8 phases. The first phase will be held on March 27th, the second phase on April 1st, the third phase on April 6th, the fourth phase on April 10th, the fifth phase on April 17th, the sixth phase on April 22nd, the seventh phase on April 26th and the eighth phase on April 29th.