Bengal elections from March 27

Voting will be held in eight phases, results on May 2, says CEC

For the BJP, the stakes are higher in the eastern states of Assam and West Bengal rather than the south like Kerala, where it is only hoping to improve its vote percentage

The election commission yesterday announced the schedule for assembly elections in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and the Union Territory (UT) Puducherry.

West Bengal elections will be held in eight phases, beginning 27 March and ending on 29 April.

In Assam, election for the 140-member assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

Elections to the 140-member Kerala Assembly, the 30-member Puducherry Assembly and the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will be held in a single phase on April 6,

Counting of all votes will take place on May 2, chief election commissioner Sunil Arora announced yesterday.

The model code of conduct will come into force immediately, Arora said.

The CEC said that adequate paramilitary forces will be deployed during the elections. A total of 186 million electors will cast their votes at 270,000 polling stations in the four states and the UT.

High stakes

The stakes are high for parties contesting these elections

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is seeking to retain power in Assam where it formed the government for the first time in 2016. The BJP is also hoping to breach Mamata Banerjee’s bastion West Bengal where it has already replaced the Left and the Congress as the principal opposition party.