The Trinamool Congress is, without doubt, the most powerful political force in the State and Mamata Banerjee the most popular political leader. It is seen as the behemoth and “democratic forces” are coalescing in a bid to best it at the hustings.
Three-plus decades of Left rule left the Congress a party that is strong in only a few pockets. And the Left, unable to quickly absorb the shock of its 2011 defeat, has barely recouped.
For the BJP, the main challenge in these elections would be to hold on to its general election vote share of nearly 17 per cent. The party hasn’t been able to build on the momentum of its 2014 high, with many who had lately joined the BJP — such as the youth wing of the All India Forward Bloc — opting to return to their old parties.
Here's what you need to know:
Important dates:
Phase 1* | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | |
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification | March 11&14 | March 22 | March 28 |
Last Date for Nominations | March 18&21 | March 29 | April 4 |
Date for Scrutiny of Nominations | March 19&22 | March 30 | April 5 |
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures | March 21&26 | April 1 | April 7 |
Date of polling | April 4&11 | April 17 | April 21 |
Counting | May 19 | May 19 | May 19 |
Phase 4 | Phase 5 | Phase 6 | |
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification | April 1 | April 4 | April 7 |
Last Date for Nominations | April 4 | April 8 | April 11 |
Date for Scrutiny of Nominations | April 5 | April 9 | April 19 |
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures | April 7 | April 11 | April 21 |
Date of polling | April 25 | April 30 | May 5 |
Counting | May 19 | May 19 | May 19 |
Facilities for voters
In a bid to encourage more voters to exercise their franchise, the Election Commission has taken several measures.
* For the first time, EVMs will feature a symbol for NOTA. The symbol was created in association with the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
* The photographs of candidates will be printed along with their names and election symbol in the EVMs.
* The Commission will distribute voter slips bearing the photo of the elector with the details, including that of polling booth, his/her serial number in the electoral roll.
* Every polling station will be equipped with basic minimu facilities such as drinking water, toilets, shed and ramp.
* Model polling stations will be set up in select constituencies.
* Separate polling booths for women will be set-up, wherever possible.
* Differently-abled votes will be given priority in exercising their franchise.
* Auxillary polling stations will be set up inside Blind Schools and leprosy sanatorium.
* Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used in select constituencies.
* All critical events will be videographed.
(With inputs from Election Commission of India)
