New Delhi, February 20 The Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, will visit Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from February 25 to 27 to assess the state's and the Union territory's preparedness for the upcoming elections, where assembly elections are likely to be held in April.
In addition to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, assembly elections are also due in Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal.
The Election Commission (EC) visited Assam this week to assess the state's preparedness for the elections. CEC Kumar told reporters in Guwahati that the EC would finalize the election schedule for the northeastern state, taking into account the Bihu festival, which falls on April 14.
It is customary for the EC to visit states where elections are due before announcing the election schedule.
The terms of the five assemblies end on different dates in May and June.
While the Puducherry Assembly's five-year term ends on June 15, the terms of the Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal assemblies end on May 20, 23, 10, and 7, respectively.
Last time, assembly elections in West Bengal were held in eight phases – the maximum number of phases. In Assam, elections were held in two phases, and in a single phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.
Of the election-bound assemblies, Puducherry was the first to publish its final voter list on February 14, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The final voter list for West Bengal will be published on February 28.
In Assam, where a Special Revision of electoral rolls was conducted instead of SIR, the final list was published on February 10.
