EC announces dates for assembly polls in 5 states
Kerala will vote on April 6 and counting will be held on May 2; official also announces the protocol to be followed against the virus spread during election
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry will be held from March 27 to April 29, while the counting of votes will be held on May 2, the Election Commission (EC) of India said on Friday.
The election Commission announced singlephase polling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, three-phase polling in Assam, and eight phases in West Bengal.
Kerala will vote on April 6 but the counting will be held only on May 2.
The chief election commissioner Sunil Arora, who released the schedule in New Delhi on Friday, also announced the protocol to be followed against the coronavirus spread.
Among these states, Kerala has the highest caseload of 52,164 followed by Tamil Nadu (4,053), West Bengal (3,353), Assam (1,623) and Puducherry (196) and the recent civic polls had contributed much to the spike.
Considering the virus spread, the election authorities have increased the number of polling booths to 40,771, by 89.6 per cent, with one booth for every 1,000 voters.
Only two people are allowed to accompany the candidate while filing nomination papers if they chose not to utilise the online option.
Only five people can accompany them during door-to-door visits to solicit votes.
Similarly, only five vehicles are allowed to take out campaign rallies at a time.
The polling time has also been extended by an hour and the COVID-19 patients and those who are quarantined can vote only in the last hour wearing protective gear.
The COVID-19 patients, the quarantined people, those aged above 80 and the physically challenged can also exercise the absentee voting option ater prior registration.
Political parties in Kerala that were busy holding pre-poll rallies across the state have started the process of finalising candidates as they were expecting the authorities to set dates for the ballot anytime.
The election in the Malappuram parliamentary constituency vacated by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikuty to return to state politics would also be held simultaneously.
Both the ruling Let Democratic Front (LDF) and the principal opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday exuded confidence in forming the next government.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly has 140 seats and 91 of them belong to the LDF led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) in the outgoing house.
The Congress party-led UDF has only 43 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just one.
The independent Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) has one seat while four remain vacant ater the death of siting members, all but one on the treasury benches.
Soon ater the election commission’s press conference in Delhi, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is the first choice for the top post in recent surveys, hit the campaign trail.
He addressed a public meeting, which was rare since the outbreak of the pandemic, here listing his government’s achievements.
“We’re facing these elections with full confidence that we’ll return to power,” said A Vijayaraghavan, who is doubling as the LDF convener and the CPI (M)’s acting chief.
“We are seeking the mandate of the people for a second term on the government’s record in development, which is our strength.”
He hoped to finalise the candidates ater completing bilateral talks among the partners without delay.
Congress president Mullappally Ramachandran claimed the allegations of corruption and nepotism against the chief minister would swing voters in their favour.
“We’ll come back to power with a huge majority as the people are disillusioned with the LDF rule,” he said.
“We would complete the seat-sharing arrangements (with allies) Monday and publish our manifesto Wednesday. You’ll get the list of candidates on the weekend.”
He also alleged a secret pact between the BJP and the CPI (M) to defeat the UDF candidates in many seats, an allegation the other two raised against Congress.