The elections to five state assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry will be held between April 4 and May 16 and counting of votes on May 19, the Election Commission announced today. Assam will go to polls in two phases on April 4 and 11 while election in West Bengal will be held in six phases on April 4 and 11 (under Phase one), 17, 21, 25, 30 and May 5. The single-phase elections for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assemblies will be held on May 16, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi told a press conference here.
Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry assemblies have 126, 140, 234, 294 and 30 constituencies respectively. The elections will also see for the first time a symbol, which has been created by the National School of Design, allotted to NOTA (None of the above) that will be placed at the bottom of the list of candidates. Noting that voters are in the focus of the Commission, Zaidi said all booths will have seven basic facilities and there will also be all-women polling booths. Mobile squads will have GPS-fitted vehicles and be accompanied by central forces to ensure that they quickly attend to complaints.
