Assembly elections in four states to be held alongside Lok Sabha polls

The Election Commission of India on Saturday (March 16) announced the schedule of assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim along with the Lok Sabha elections.

The voting in Andhra Pradesh’s 175 assembly segments is set to take place on May 13, while the counting of votes will be held on June 4.

In 2019, the YSRCP led by Jagan Mohan Reddy registered a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in the southern state’s 175-member assembly. The TDP managed to bag only 23 which were further reduced to 19 after the resignation of Ganta Srinivas Rao and the defection of 3 MLAs to YSRCP following the assembly polls.

The 2019 polls were the first in Andhra Pradesh since the state’s bifurcation in 2014, which led to the formation of Telangana. The Jana Sena Party, which was formed in 2014, managed to get only one seat, while parties like Congress, BJP and others drew a blank. The YSRCP secured a 49.95% vote share in 2019, while TDP received 39.17% votes.

The BJP is hoping to mount a fierce challenge to the ruling YSRCP by forging an alliance with the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party. The Congress led by new state unit chief YS Sharmila is also vying to regain political space in Andhra Pradesh.

Odisha

Elections to the Odisha assembly will be held in the final four of the seven general election phases. A total of 3.32 crore electors, including 1.68 crore male, 1.64 crore female and 3,380 third genders, will exercise their franchise in the state during the polls in Odisha.

The state has 9,060 voters aged above 100 years, while 7.54 lakh new voters will cast their votes for the first time. Of the 37,809 polling stations, including 33,469 in rural areas, the ECI has planned for webcasting in 22,685 booths. As many as 300 booths will be managed by persons with disabilities while 4,000 booths will be managed by women, said official sources in the chief electoral officer’s office.

Though speculations are rife about a possible alliance between the ruling BJD and the BJP, elections in Odisha are expected to be a triangular fight with the Congress being the third major political player in the fray. The BJD led by Naveen Patnaik is looking for a record sixth term. Out of power since 2000, the Congress will make an attempt for a comeback. The main Opposition BJP will be making an effort to increase its tally, if the alliance talks with the BJD doesn’t yield positive outcome.

Patnaik has already held meetings with observers of various districts to review the poll preparedness. The BJP’s state unit election committee meeting was held on Saturday to finalise tickets while Congress said it has already sent a list of probable candidates for approval of the high command.

Arunachal

Elections for the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly will take place on April 19. The elections will be held in a single phase in the state and the votes will be counted on June 4.

The assembly polls will take place concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections for the two seats of Arunachal East and Arunachal West.

The BJP emerged as the winner in the last Assembly polls in 2019, with Pema Khandu becoming the chief minister. The BJP currently holds 53 seats, while the National People's Party has two, one each held by the Congress and an Independent MLA.

Sikkim

Similarly, the voting for the 32-member Sikkim assembly will be held in a single phase. As per the ECI announcement, voters will cast their votes on April 19. The counting of the votes will take place on June 4. The term of the current assembly elected in 2019 will expire on June 2, 2024.

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Prem Singh Tamang ended Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling’s 25-year rule in the border state after a close contest in 2019. Of the state’s 32 seats, SKM won 17 seats, leaving Chamling and his Sikkim Democratic Front totally stunned.