Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 15: The Election Commission of India will announce the schedule for Assembly elections in five states and one Union Territory on Sunday.

The poll body has convened a press conference at 4 pm to release the election timetable for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.

The terms of the legislative assemblies in these states and the Union Territory are scheduled to end on different dates in May and June. Under election laws, the Commission is required to conduct polls before the expiry of the respective assemblies.

Officials said special intensive revision of the electoral rolls has already been carried out in these regions and the final voters’ lists have been published.

The announcement follows a key meeting held earlier this week in New Delhi to finalise the election schedule and phase-wise polling plan.

The full bench of the Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, recently concluded a multi-state review of election preparedness.

According to officials, the Commission assessed field reports submitted by state election machinery and central observers before taking a final decision on the number of polling phases, deployment of security forces and the detailed schedule for the polls.

The Commission’s visit to West Bengal marked the final leg of its nationwide review ahead of the elections. During the visit, it held meetings with senior administrative and police officials, district magistrates and representatives of political parties to review poll preparedness.

Similar meetings were earlier conducted in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry as part of the Commission’s standard pre-election assessment process.