New Delhi: The assembly elections in Kerala will be held on April 6. Counting of votes will be held on May 2.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the crucial dates at a press conference in Delhi on Friday.
Election watch: Know the political pulse of all 14 districts in Kerala
Nearly 2.67 crore voters in Kerala will elect the representatives for the 15th Legislative Assembly (Niyamasabha).
As per the announcement the issue of notification for the polls will be on March 12. The last date of nomination is March 19.
The scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for March 20 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 22.
The EC also announced the schedule for the assembly polls in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Assam
Elections will be held in three phases. Counting on May 2.
Phase 1 polling: March 27
Phase 2: April 1
Phase 3: April 6
Puducherry
Single phase election on April 6. Counting on May 2.
Tamil Nadu
Single phase election on April 6. Counting on May 2.
West Bengal
Elections to be held in eight phases. Counting on May 2.
Phase 1: March 27
Phase 2: April 1
Phase 3: April 6
Phase 4: April 10
Phase 5: April 17
Phase 6: April 22
Phase 7: April 26
Phase 8: April 29
40,771 polling booths in Kerala
The bye-election to the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency, which fell vacant after the resignation of IUML MP Kunhalikutty, will be held simultaneously with the Kerala Assembly polls on April 6. Voters in this constituency in north Kerala district would vote to elect their MLA and MP simultaneously.
Retired IPS officer Deepak Mishra will be the police observer in Kerala.
There will be 40,771 polling booths in Kerala. This is an increase of 89.65 percent over the last election.
In the last Assembly election held in Kerala on 16 May, 2016, the CPM-led LDF had trounced the UDF.
38 days for campaign
With the election date being announced, the political parties in the state are left with just 38 days for campaigning. This means that all the three major fronts – CPM-led LDF, Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA – will be finalising their candidates soon.
In Kerala, the election will decide whether the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government will get another term or not. For the Congress-led front, the polls will be a do-or-die battle as many analysts are of the view that the party's organisational structure would collapse in Kerala if it cannot come to power this time. Notably, the BJP has emerged as a force to reckon with in several constituencies in the state and their performance will be a decisive factor in the elections.
All the three fronts have already entered the campaign mode with leaders taking out pan-Kerala pre-poll rallies. In Kerala, the ruling front is facing the elections with tall claims of implementing a slew of development and welfare projects. The opposition fronts, on the other hand, are trying to corner the ruling front over issues such as corruption allegations, gold smuggling scam and Sabarimala controversy.
Polls with adherence to Covid guidelines
Excluding the November 2019 election to the Bihar Assembly, this is the first major round of elections to be held in India after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago, though several civic polls were held in various parts, including Kerala.
Stringent COVID-19 protocols would be in force for the latest elections just announced.
Only five people will be allowed to do door-to-door campaign in the wake of the persisting Covid situation, the CEC said.
Nomination can be filed online too.
Only two people should accompany the candidates while submitting nomination papers.
The polling time has be extended by one hour, the EC announced.
The elections will be held for all the 140 constituencies in Kerala, 126 in Assam, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 294 in West Bengal and 30 in Puducherry.
In all 18.68 crore electors in 824 assembly constituencies will cast their votes at 2.7 lakh polling stations spread across 4 states and in 1 UT, the CEC stated.
The terms of legislative assemblies of four states – Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and West Bengal – are coming to an end in May and June.
In Puducherry, President's Rule has been imposed and the assembly kept under suspended animation after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence.
