Campaigning for the Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will end tomorrow, with political parties stepping up last-minute voter outreach ahead of the April 9 polling.
The Election Commission had announced the schedule for five Assemblies on March 15. Tamil Nadu’s 234 constituencies will vote in a single phase on April 23, while West Bengal’s 294 seats will go to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
In Kerala, voting will be held for 140 seats. The Left Democratic Front, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is seeking to retain power, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front is campaigning to return to office. The BJP, buoyed by recent local body gains including the Thiruvananthapuram mayoral post, is also mounting an aggressive campaign, making the contest multi-cornered.
In Puducherry, polling for 30 seats is scheduled on April 9. The ruling NR Congress-led NDA alliance is aiming for a comeback, while the Congress–DMK alliance is seeking to regain power. With actor Vijay’s newly launched TVK and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi also in the fray, issues such as statehood and employment have featured prominently in the campaign.
Assam’s 126-seat election will also be held in a single phase on April 9. The BJP-led NDA, under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is aiming for a third consecutive victory, while the Congress is attempting to wrest power, intensifying the final phase of campaigning. Votes across the five states will be counted on May 4.
