West Bengal to vote in two phases, ECI announces
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the poll schedule for Assembly elections in four states — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala — and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Voting will be held between April 9 and April 29, with results to be declared on May 4. The Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement.
“Voting for all seats in Assam will be held on April 9. Voting in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Voting for all seats in Kerala and Puducherry will take place on April 9, while all Tamil Nadu seats will go to polls on April 23,” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced.
The terms of the five Assemblies will expire between May and June 2026 — West Bengal on May 7, Tamil Nadu on May 10, Assam on May 20, Kerala on May 23 and Puducherry on June 15.
West Bengal will see polling in two phases, a sharp reduction from the eight phases in the 2021 elections. “With regards to the West Bengal elections to be held in two phases instead of eight phases earlier, the Commission has held detailed deliberations and in its considered opinion, it was found necessary to reduce the number of phases and bring it down to an extent where it is convenient for everybody,” Kumar said.
The elections are expected to pit the BJP against strong regional leaderships in the states, following recent victories by the BJP-led NDA alliance in Bihar and Delhi. Issues such as language, Centre-State relations and immigration are expected to feature prominently in the campaigns.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala are currently governed by Opposition parties — the DMK, the Trinamool Congress and the Left Front, respectively — while the BJP governs Assam and the NDA rules Puducherry. Tamil Nadu has 234 Assembly seats, West Bengal 294, Kerala 140, Assam 126 and Puducherry 30.
In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP is seeking a third term, while the Congress is attempting a comeback under state president Gaurav Gogoi.
For Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, the poll notification will be issued on March 16, with March 23 as the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 24 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is March 26.
For Tamil Nadu, the notification will be issued on March 30, with April 6 as the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will take place on April 7 and the last date for withdrawal is April 9.
In West Bengal, notifications will be issued on March 30 for the first phase and April 2 for the second phase. The last date for filing nominations is April 6 for the first phase and April 9 for the second.
Scrutiny will take place on April 7 and April 10, respectively, while the last date for withdrawal is April 9 and April 13. Polling will be held in 152 constituencies in the first phase and 142 in the second.
The Commission said polling arrangements will involve around 25 lakh election officials, including 15 lakh polling personnel, 8.5 lakh security personnel, 49,000 micro observers, 1,444 observers, 40,000 counting officials, 21,000 sector officers and 15,000 micro observers for counting.
