New Delhi: The Election Commission of India is likely to announce the schedule for upcoming Assembly elections in several states and a Union Territory on Sunday.
The poll body has scheduled a press conference at 4 pm to reveal the election dates.
Assembly elections are due to be held in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam, along with the Union Territory of Puducherry.
A special intensive revision of voter lists has already been conducted in these states and the Union Territory, and the final electoral rolls have been published.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, visited West Bengal on March 10 to review poll preparedness. The commissioners also toured other poll-bound states to assess election arrangements.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has 294 seats, where the main contest is expected between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, has been in power since 2011.
In Assam, elections will be held for 126 Assembly seats, with the contest likely between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the Indian National Congress.
In Kerala, the key contest is expected between the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front for the 140-member Assembly. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is also in the fray.
The BJP is expected to contest around 100 seats in Kerala, while its allies Bharat Dharma Jana Sena and Twenty20 may contest the remaining seats as part of the alliance.
Tamil Nadu will hold elections for 234 Assembly constituencies, with political parties intensifying their campaigns and finalising seat-sharing arrangements within their alliances.
Meanwhile, elections in Puducherry will be held for all 30 constituencies of the 16th Puducherry Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress is contesting in alliance with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India.
The opposition alliance in Puducherry includes the All India NR Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission reviewed preparedness for the upcoming polls in all five regions.
According to an official release, the Commission has also appointed central observers under powers granted by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to assist in ensuring free and fair elections and to oversee the effective management of the electoral process at the ground level.
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