New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in five states and the Union Territory of Puducherry, with polling beginning on April 9 and the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the electoral exercise will be held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with the Union Territory of Puducherry.
“The festival of elections, our pride, is going to be held in the states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The total electors are 17.4 crore and the assembly constituencies are 824. The number of polling stations is roughly 2.19 lakh and the electoral machinery would consist of around 25 lakh personnel,” Kumar said.
Providing details of the electorate, the CEC said Assam has around 2.25 crore voters, Kerala about 2.7 crore, Puducherry approximately 9.44 lakh, Tamil Nadu nearly 5.67 crore and West Bengal around 6.44 crore electors.
He said centenarian voters are also registered across the poll-bound states and the UT. Around 2.18 lakh polling stations will be set up, most of them in rural areas, with the average number of voters per polling station ranging between 750 and 850.
Kumar added that model polling stations will be established across the states and the UT, including special polling stations managed by women and those operated by persons with disabilities. “Webcasting will be done in 100 percent polling stations,” he said.
According to the schedule announced by the Commission, polling in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 23. In West Bengal, voting will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
The counting of votes for all states and the Union Territory will take place on May 4, the Commission said.
