SINGLE-PHASE POLLING IN THREE STATES, THIRD PHASE IN TWO TODAY
While polling will end in TN, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry; in West Bengal, it will enter the third phase
NEW DELHI: Voting for 475 assembly seats across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will be held on Tuesday amid tight security and strict coronavirus-related protocols.
While polling in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will commence on Tuesday and will be held in a single-phase, it will enter the third phase and last phase in West Bengal and Assam, respectively.
While Tamil Nadu is witnessing a battle between the ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK, in Kerala the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF is hoping for a consecutive second term. In West Bengal, the third phase will seal the fate of as many as 205 candidates while in Assam, the last phase will decide the fate of the remaining 337 candidates.
NEW DELHI: Voting for 475 assembly seats across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will be held on Tuesday amid tight security and strict coronavirus-related protocols.
While polling in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will commence on Tuesday and will be held in a single-phase, it will enter the third phase and last phase in West Bengal and Assam, respectively.
Tamil Nadu, which has witnessed the fiercest electoral battle between M Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and J Jayalalithaa of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for over three decades, is set to hold its single-phased polls across 234 constituencies for the first time without the two stalwarts of Dravidian politics.
While the state has traditionally seen the two parties hold power alternately since 1967, the AIADMK has emerged victorious in the last two assembly elections. This time, it is contesting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).
On Monday, the ruling party urged the chief electoral officer to ‘cancel’ the candidature of DMK president M K Stalin and four others, alleging “distribution of cash” to voters. AIADMK joint secretary of the advocate’s wing R M Babu Murugavel alleged that the associates of Stalin, who is fighting the polls from Kolathur, were “distributing a sum of ₹5,000 to voters” in the constituency.
A total of 3,998 candidates are in the poll fray in the state.
The election for the 140-member Kerala assembly in 14 districts will also be held in a single phase on Tuesday. As many as 957 candidates are contesting the assembly elections after the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers.
An array of ministers and several sitting MLAs from both the traditional coalitions-- the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congressheaded United Democratic Front (UDF) are seeking another term here. The elections here would be a litmus test, especially for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who camped in the state for several days and took part in dozens of corner meetings and rallies to campaign for the UDF.
At least 59,292 police personnel and 140 companies of central forces have been deployed, state police chief Lokhnath Behra was quoted as saying by PTI.
In West Bengal, a three-cornered battle is on the cards in the 31 seats that will go to polls in the third phase on Tuesday. In the 2016 elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) had won all but one of the 31 seats while the saffron party emerged as the main contender after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, TMC minister Ashima Patra and CPI(M) leader Kanti Ganguly from Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas, respectively, are among the 205 candidates contesting in this phase. The Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat, held by chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, will also be closely watched as four of its seven assembly segments will go to polls in this phase.
Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful voting, with 618 companies of CAPF deployed to guard over 10,000 polling stations, all of which have been marked “sensitive” by the Election Commission.
Assam is all set to go into the last phase of polling to decide the fate of the remaining 337 candidates across 40 seats in 12 districts. The main contest in the state is between the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led Mahajot (grand alliance).
Besides senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is contesting from Jalukbari constituency, BJP minister Chandra Mohan Patowary from Dharampur, education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya from Gauhati East and BJP state chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass from Patacharkuchi are also in the fray. The fate of sitting Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, former AGP MLA Kamala Kalita from Chaygaon, and Assam Jatiya Parishad working president Pabindra Deka from Pathacharkuchi will also be decided in the third phase.
To conduct free and fair polls, the poll panel has deputed 17 expenditure observers and 986 micro observers in Assam. Along with that 320 units of Para Military forces, and a party comprising one constable, and one home guard in each police station have been deployed to maintain law and order at polling stations. Assam minister Pramila Rani Brahma’s personal security officer was detained for allegedly assaulting an on-duty officer at her residence in Kokrajhar district, police said, according to news agency PTI. The minister, however, alleged a “conspiracy” by her political opponents and that the local police were acting at the behest of higher authorities.
A total of 30 constituencies are going to polls in the Union territory of Puducherry with 324 candidates in the fray. As many as 34 companies of CAPF have been deployed here. In the UT, which is currently under President’s Rule, the political battle is mainly between the CongressDMK alliance and the NDA comprising All India NR Congress, AIADMK and BJP.