The schedule for the upcoming Assembly Elections in four states and one Union Territory will be announced today, Sunday, March 15.

Elections are due in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, and the Election Commission is expected to release the detailed poll schedule during a press conference at 4 PM at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

In West Bengal, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the voter list is still underway. Although the final electoral roll has already been published, the supplementary list is yet to be released, which will determine the fate of nearly 60 lakh voters. This has raised questions about whether elections in the state can be announced before the supplementary list is published.

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However, the Supreme Court has clarified that the supplementary voter list can be released until the day before the election, meaning there is no legal obstacle to announcing the poll dates at this stage. With that clarity, attention has now shifted to another key question — how many phases the election in West Bengal will be conducted in.

While elections are scheduled in five regions, the political focus remains heavily on West Bengal. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, where he called for a “Bikashit Bangla” and signalled that political accountability would follow a change in government.

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Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has set its sights on reducing the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from its current strength in the Assembly and securing a fourth consecutive term for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The party has also made the SIR exercise a major political issue, accusing the Election Commission of rushing the process ahead of the elections.

Amid political accusations, voter concerns and ongoing scrutiny over the electoral roll revision, attention now turns to the Election Commission’s announcement later today, which will officially set the stage for the next electoral battle in West Bengal.

When does EC typically announce West Bengal election dates?

The Election Commission typically announces election schedules a day or two after completing its review of poll preparations in states heading to elections. West Bengal was the final state visited by the poll panel earlier this week, and the team returned from the state on March 10.