Polls in WB, Kerala, Assam, TN from April 4 to May 16

Polling to be spread over six weeks

 Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and union territory Puducherry will go to the polls between April 4 and May 16 to elect new state legislative assemblies.

The BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left parties are now all set for a mega electoral battle.

Chief Election Commissioner Naseem Zaidi said on Friday that the 126-member Assam Assembly will go to polls in two phases on April 4 and 11. Polling for 294 seats in West Bengal will be held in six phases between April 4 and May 5. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will vote on May 16 to elect 140, 234 and 30 members respectively.

The results of all the state elections will be out on May 19.
The BJP, which now leads the ruling coalition at the Centre, has tied up with the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodo People’s Forum in Assam. It is keen to pose a tough challenge to the Congress which has been in power in since 2001.

The All India United Democratic Front led by Badruddin Ajmal is likely to be another key player in the poll.

The Congress and the Left parties are exploring possibilities of a tie-up in West Bengal to pose a tough challenge to ruling Trinamool Congress led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The CPM and other Left parties, however, will take on ruling Congress led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Kerala.

While the ruling AIADMK led by Chief Minister J Jayalalitha is going it all alone to seek re-election in Tamil Nadu, the Congress already declared alliance with main Opposition party DMK.

The DMDK is yet to announce if it would join the Congress-DMK alliance. The PMK, too, has not made public its electoral strategy.

The Model Code of Conduct came into force in the four states and Puducherry soon after the EC announced the poll-schedule on Friday.

Zaidi, flanked by Election Commissioners O P Rawat and A K Joti, said that the EC, after visiting the poll-bound states, had directed a time-bound and systematic drive for “improvement in the quality and health of their respective electoral rolls, so as to enhance their fidelity for the conduct of free and fair elections”.

He said that the Special Electoral Roll Purification Drive from February 15 to 29 focussed on enrolment of all eligible voters, removal of multiple entries and names of dead voters, correction of various types of errors in Electoral Photo Identity Cards and roll data.

He said that the Special Electoral Roll Purification Drive from February 15 to 29, focussed on enrolment of all eligible voters, removal of multiple entries and names of dead voters, correction of various types of errors in Electoral Photo Identity Cards and roll data.

The Chief Election Commissioner said that the Central Armed Police Forces and State Armed Police drawn from other States would be deployed during the elections based on the assessment of the ground situation. The paramilitary forces would be deployed well in advance for area domination, route marches in vulnerable pockets, point patrolling and other confidence building measures to re-assure and build faith in the minds of the voters, especially those belonging to the weaker sections and minorities.

In the areas affected by left-wing extremism and insurgency, the central paramilitary forces would be inducted well in time for undertaking area familiarisation, hand-holding with local forces and standard protocols regarding improvised explosive devices and de-mining or road opening and other activities in the troubled areas would be strictly adhered to, said the CEC.