Elections 2021: highlights of March 16
The big news from Bengal on Tuesday included the resignation of Rajya Sabha’s Swapan Dasgupta to compete in the Tarakeshwar constituency on a BJP ballot, and the Election Commission’s stern warning to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for trying to “disparage the institution with insinuations “that it was acting at the behest of a political party.
In Assam, on Tuesday, Congress declared candidates for 21 seats, bringing the total number of candidates declared so far by the party to 90. Separately, the head of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Badruddin Ajmal, clarified that no he was in the race for the CM, and that his party will always “defend the unity and development of the state.”
In Kerala, former Congressional leader PC Chacko joined Sharad Pawar’s CPN on Tuesday and said he would visit all 14 districts over the next 18 days to campaign for the left.
Meanwhile, Kerala’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, 75, has started campaigning in his Dharmadam seat, where the motto of the polls is “Surely, it’s LDF.” His task has been made easier by the fact that Congress has yet to find a candidate to oppose him, and the BJP has not started campaigning.
Thol Thirumavalavan, chairman of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which has teamed up with DMK for the Tamil Nadu elections, told The Indian Express in an interview that the BJP has no foundation in the state “they have no interest in the people’s lives “and” Talking about religion and God alone won’t help. “
2021 Assembly Election Calendar: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
The election schedule for four states and one Union territory has been announced with West Bengal voting in eight phases, Assam in three, and Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry together on the same day. Voting will run over a month from March 27 to April 29, and the results of the five Assemblies will be announced on May 2, said Chief Elections Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora.
The first phase of voting for 30 seats in West Bengal is scheduled for March 27. The second phase (30 seats) will take place on April 1, the third (31 seats) on April 6, the fourth (44 seats) on April 10. fifth (45 seats) on April 17, sixth (43 seats) on April 22, seventh (36 seats) on April 26 and the final phase for the remaining seats on April 29.
Voting in Assam will be divided into three phases, on March 27, April 1, and April 6, respectively. Voting in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will take place in a single phase on April 6.
The four states and the Puducherry UT are the first set of Assemblies to probe amid the pandemic after the Bihar elections in October last year.
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