Congress leader Pawan Khera called on the Election Commission of India to consider local sensitivities while announcing poll schedules, raising concerns that the Kerala Assembly elections are set close to the Easter festival. Speaking after the announcement of election dates for five regions, he said the commission should have consulted stakeholders before finalizing the schedule. According to Khera, decisions about election timing should be made with greater sensitivity, noting that Easter in Kerala falls just weeks after the scheduled polling.

Khera also questioned the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleging that the process could lead to targeted removal of voters. He said that based on the party’s experience over the past six months, the exercise appears to focus more on deleting votes rather than adding new ones, and claimed that the deletions are deliberate and targeted.

The Election Commission announced Assembly election dates for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry will have single phase polling on April 9. Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23. Vote counting for all five regions is scheduled for May 4.

The elections will cover 824 Assembly constituencies with around 17.4 crore voters. About 2.19 lakh polling stations will be established and nearly 25 lakh personnel will be deployed to conduct the elections. With the announcement of the schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in all the poll bound states and the Union Territory. The elections are being held as the current assemblies near the end of their terms, beginning with West Bengal on May 7, followed by Tamil Nadu on May 10, Assam on May 20, Kerala on May 23, and Puducherry on June 15.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.