Polling to be held in single phase in Tamilnadu on 23rd April; Two phase polling in West Bengal to be held on 23rd and 29th of next month

The Election Commission of India has announced that Assembly elections in Assam, Keralam, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase, while polling in West Bengal will take place in two phases. Announcing the poll schedule in New Delhi yesterday, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said voting in Assam, Keralam and Puducherry will be held on the 9th of April, while in Tamil Nadu, polling will take place on the 23rd. 
 
In West Bengal, voting will be conducted in two phases on the 23rd and 29th of April. The first phase in the state will cover 152 Assembly constituencies, and the second phase will cover 142 constituencies. 
 
Counting of votes for all four states and the Union Territory will be held on the 4th of May.  The notification for the Assembly elections in Assam, Keralam and Puducherry will be issued today. 
 
The notification for Tamil Nadu and for the first phase of Assembly polls in West Bengal will be issued on 30th of March. Notification for the second phase of polling in West Bengal will be issued on 2nd of April. 
 
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, with the announcement of the poll schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the states and the Union Territories.
 
Mr Kumar said that over 17 crore people are eligible to vote in the elections to these five assemblies covering 824 Constituencies. This includes over 6 crore voters in West Bengal, nearly 6 crore in Tamil Nadu, nearly three crore in Keralam, over two crore in Assam and over nine lakh in Puducherry. He added that more than two lakh polling stations will be set up and nearly 25 lakh election officials will be deployed across the states and the Union Territory.
 
The Chief Election Commissioner said directions have been issued to ensure Assured Minimum Facilities such as drinking water, toilets and signage at every polling station. He added that the Commission has recently introduced 30 new initiatives to make the election process more transparent. Mr Kumar also said that there will be a maximum of 1,200 electors at each polling station and 100 per cent webcasting will be ensured for round-the-clock monitoring.
 
Mr Kumar informed that the term of the 294-member Legislative Assembly of West Bengal ends on 7th of May, the 126-member Assembly of Assam on 20th of May, and the 140-member Assembly of Kerala on 23rd of May. The term of the 234-member Assembly in Tamil Nadu ends on 10th of May, while the 30-member Assembly in Puducherry will complete its term on 15th of June.
 
Speaking about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Mr Kumar said that pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of any democracy. He said, with this objective, the exercise is being conducted under Article 326 of the Constitution to ensure that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible person is included in the voters’ list.
 
Mr Kumar also appealed to youth and first-time voters to participate enthusiastically in this great democratic exercise and cast their votes with pride, responsibility and confidence. He added that elections in India are truly a festival of democracy.