CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 23, the Election Commission of India announced on Sunday. Elections will also be held in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on April 9, while West Bengal polls will be held in two phases, April 23 and 29. The counting of votes in all four states and Puducherry will take place on May 4.
With the announcement of poll dates, the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, barring new policy announcements by the state governments.
According to the poll schedule, the filing of nominations will begin on March 30 and end on April 6. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 7, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is April 9.
Addressing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said the elections would be conducted smoothly and peacefully, with special attention to law and order.
This will be TN’s first Assembly elections after the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has produced a final voter list of 5.67 crore electors, including 12.51 lakh voters in the 18-19 age group.
The CEC said political parties have received the updated electoral rolls and the window for requesting corrections will remain open until 10 days before the last date for filing nominations.
Describing elections as a “festival of democracy”, he said clear directions have been issued to enforcement agencies, district collectors and police officials to enforce the law.
“Each constituency will have an observer appointed by the poll body, and any fake news circulating on social media will be monitored strictly,” he said.
To improve the voting experience, each polling booth will cater to about 1,200 voters instead of 1,500, the CEC added.
Meanwhile, major political parties have yet to finalise their alliances and seat-sharing arrangements.
While the DMK-led alliance is still facing hurdles in finalising the number of constituencies for its partners, the AIADMK-BJP-led NDA alliance has yet to formally begin seat-sharing talks.
At the same time, alternative political forces such as actor Vijay’s TVK and Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi are preparing to enter the electoral contest.