Election Commission to announce poll dates for 5 states at 4.30 today

New Delhi, Feb 26: The Election Commission is expected to announce poll dates for Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry at 4.30 pm on Friday. The states are due for elections in April-May.

This is the first major set of elections to be held in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic after the Bihar election.

The Election Commission will likely hold elections in Bengal in seven-eight phases. In 2016, elections were held in six phases from April 4-May 5. The ECI data showed that about 6,400 polling booths are deemed sensitive in the state.

The poll body has also increased in Bengal from 78,903 to 1,01,790. At least 125 companies of central security forces are likely to arrive in the state by the end of February.

The ECI will follow the Bihar model, taken up last year for conducting the assembly polls amid the coronavirus pandemic, during the upcoming elections. The ECI has already started inoculation of the officials involved with the polling and the entire process would get over before the election starts.

Candidates for the election would also have to follow the protocols while officials inside polling booths will wear masks, face shields and gloves and use sanitiser on the premises.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of the four states is coming to an end in May and June.

In Puducherry, President's Rule has been imposed and the assembly kept under suspended animation after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence.