Elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will be held from March 27 and the results will be announced on May 2, the Election Commission has said. Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam and 30 seats in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Bengal will vote in eight phases, March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. Tamil Nadu and Kerala will vote in a single round on April 6. Puducherry will also vote on the same day. Assam will vote on March 27, April 1 and April 6. More than 18 crore are eligible to vote in these elections, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said.
Bengal is hurtling towards the most high-stakes battle of all with the two-time Chief Minister facing a tough challenge from the BJP. Her Trinamool Congress has been losing leaders - including her most trusted strategists -- to the BJP and the bleed hasn't stopped. She also accuses the BJP of using central agencies to hound her party men with multiple investigations.
In Tamil Nadu, the ruling AIADMK will face its first state election since the death of its charismatic and powerful leader J Jayalalithaa. The opposition DMK-Congress swept the 2019 national election and hopes to continue its good run. The BJP, never a big player in Tamil Nadu, has more expectations from neighbouring Puducherry, which was placed under President's Rule after the Congress government collapsed.