The West Bengal Assembly election will be held from 27 March to 29 April in eight phases, following which the results will be declared on 2 May. This makes it the longest ever polling in the state so far, seemingly based on “assessments of law and order”, according to the Election Commission of India (EC)‘s Sunil Arora on Friday, 26 February.
This decision has been met with opposition from CM Mamata Banerjee who claimed this was done at the behest of PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
At a press conference in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan, Arora declared the full schedule for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, whose term ends on 30 May. The party needs to secure 148 seats to attain majority.
Arora also announced the dates for the Assembly elections in three other states and one Union territory. These are Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, where elections are due by May this year.