NEW DELHI: The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for assembly elections in five states and Union Territories anytime after March 15. This date marks the deadline for filing appeals against the final electoral roll for West Bengal, which was published on February 28 and includes around 6.4 crore voters.
The window for filing appeals against the final electoral rolls in the other poll-bound regions—Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry—has already closed.
Sources indicated that the upcoming elections may be held in fewer phases compared to the 2021 assembly polls. In 2021, West Bengal voted across eight phases, Assam in three phases, while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry went to the polls in a single phase. This time, authorities are planning to shorten the polling schedule by deploying a significantly larger number of central security forces, particularly in West Bengal.
According to sources, the number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) deployed could exceed the 1,500 companies—around 1.4 lakh personnel—used during the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. Around 500 companies of CAPFs, comprising nearly 45,000 personnel, have already been deployed in advance in West Bengal.
Polling in West Bengal and Assam is expected to be conducted in multiple phases, while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are likely to vote in a single phase.
With the term of the West Bengal Assembly ending on May 7, voting is expected to take place across April and early May.
Meanwhile, the process of reviewing around 60 lakh “doubtful” voter cases in West Bengal will continue. Judicial officers appointed by the Calcutta High Court are examining these cases, with provisions for further appeals before tribunals. Sources said the Election Commission will publish supplementary voter lists including cases cleared by judicial officers, as directed by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
On Thursday, the Election Commission also issued a notification appointing returning officers for all 294 constituencies in West Bengal, after the state government agreed—following the Commission’s insistence—to provide officials of the required seniority.
The Commission will closely monitor the deployment and randomisation of CAPF and state police personnel in the poll-bound states through special police observers, police observers and CAPF nodal officers.
