The Election Commission of India is expected to announce the dates for Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry at 4.30 pm on Friday, ANI reported. The four states and one Union territory are due for polls in April-May.
This will be the first set of major elections to take place in the country amid the coronavirus crisis, after the Bihar Assembly polls in October-November last year.
Elections will be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 140 in Kerala, 126 in Assam and 30 in Puducherry.
In West Bengal, the stage is set for a high-stakes contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In Puducherry, the recent collapse of the Congress government led to the imposition of President’s Rule on Thursday. The BJP said it will not stake claim to form a government, but expressed confidence that the party will win in the Assembly election.
In Tamil Nadu, the BJP will contest elections with its ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, while the Congress is expected to ally with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
In Assam, the BJP has been campaigning aggressively to retain power. It had defeated Congress in Assam for the first time in 2016. The BJP is also preparing to the challenge the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala.
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