oppn parties Polling Dates Announced for 4 States & Puducherry, 8-Phased Polling In West Bengal

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Polling Dates Announced for 4 States & Puducherry, 8-Phased Polling In West Bengal

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-02-26 14:18:27

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

The Election Commission (EC) today announced he dates for the elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. Elections in these states and union territory will be held in phases from March 27 to April 29 and counting will be done on May 2. While Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will have polling on a single day on April 6, Assam will have a three-phase election on March 27 and April 1 and 6. West Bengal has been singled out for special treatment with elections spread over more than one month in 8 phases.

The EC cannot be faulted for announcing a punishing schedule for West Bengal as there are pointers that there will be a fierce turf battle between the ruling TMC and the BJP. The two are at loggerheads ever since the BJP made heavy inroads in TMC citadels in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. After that, the BJP has been steadily poaching on TMC leaders at all levels and the party's bigwigs, including Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have been making repeated trips to the state. All observers expect bloodshed during the days leading to the polls and disturbances on poll days. Hence the EC is taking no chances and will hold the elections in 8 phases to make the best use of Central forces in conducting free and fair elections.

But the picture changes once one sees it from another angle. Consider the fact that there is not a massive difference in the number of seats between Tamil Nadu (234) and West Bengal (294). Yet, Tamil Nadu will have elections in a single phase while West Bengal elections are spread over eight phases in a month and two days. Has the EC decided to give the BJP enough time to end campaigning in other states by April 5 and concentrate on West Bengal by deploying the heavyweights in the remaining phases? That is another, more interesting and controversial, way to look at the need to have polling in 8 phases in the state. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.