New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for assembly elections in five states and one Union Territory — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry. Counting of votes for all these elections will take place on May 4.
According to the schedule, voting in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 9. Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 23, while West Bengal will witness a two-phase election on April 23 and April 29.
Alongside these elections, bypolls will also be held in eight assembly constituencies across Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that clean electoral rolls form the foundation of democracy. “No eligible voter should be left out and no ineligible voter should be included,” he said.
The commission said a total of 17.4 crore voters across 824 constituencies will be eligible to cast their votes. Polling will be conducted at around 2.19 lakh polling stations with nearly 25 lakh election officials deployed on duty.
The average number of voters per polling station in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal ranges between 750 and 900. The CEC also appreciated the work of booth level officers (BLOs) during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Officials added that presiding officers at every polling station will upload voter turnout data every two hours during polling and immediately after the voting concludes.
