The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced the schedule for assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory. Polling will be held in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while Tamil Nadu votes on April 23. Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will go to the polls on April 9. Counting of votes for all five will take place on May 4.
The elections will decide governments across about 824 seats. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said around 17.4 crore voters are expected to participate. Assam has 2.50 crore voters, Kerala 2.70 crore, Puducherry 9.44 lakh, Tamil Nadu 5.67 crore, and West Bengal 6.44 crore.
Elections in Assam will cover 126 seats, Kerala 140 seats, West Bengal 294 seats, and Tamil Nadu 234 seats.
“The electoral commissions from 20 nations will come to India to see our democratic processes and learn from us,” Kumar said.
The Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement.
By-polls to 8 assembly seats on April 9 and 23, counting on May 4
By-polls to eight assembly constituencies across several states will be held on April 9 and April 23, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference, Kumar said polling will take place on April 9 in five seats in Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura, and on April 23 in three constituencies in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Counting of votes for all eight seats will be conducted on May 4.
The by-elections were necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs.
The constituencies are Ponda in Goa, Bagalkot and Davanagere South in Karnataka, Koridang in Nagaland, Dharmanagar in Tripura, Umreth in Gujarat, and Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra.