Political parties have been preparing for months for Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The Election Commission has now announced the polling schedule and the date for counting.
According to the schedule, Tamil Nadu votes on April 23. Assam, Kerala and Puducherry go to the polls in a single phase on April 9, while West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
The contest is being watched closely because in three of these regions—including Tamil Nadu—parties that oppose the BJP at the Centre are currently in power, such as the DMK, Left parties and the Trinamool Congress. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK says its strong alliance positions it for another win, while the AIADMK, allied with the BJP, hopes public dissatisfaction with the DMK government will work in its favour. Actor Vijay’s newly launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is currently set to contest alone, raising questions about whether it could split votes and affect both major fronts.
In Kerala, the CPI(M)-led Left front faces talk of anti-incumbency after two consecutive terms, with the Congress-led UDF being seen as having an opening. However, reports of indiscipline, factionalism and gaps in campaign strategy within the Congress alliance are being cited as hurdles.
In West Bengal, the BJP has emerged as a strong challenger and is aiming to unseat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The state has also become the focal point of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, under which 60 lakh voters’ names were removed; Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court and her party has initiated steps to bring a censure motion in Parliament against the Chief Election Commissioner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended the exercise as an effort to identify and remove illegal immigrants, and the impact of SIR across the five-state polls is expected to be reflected in the results on May 4.
