The Election Commission of India announced the assembly poll schedules for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and the union territory of Puducherry on Sunday.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar confirmed that the Model Code of Conduct came into force across all four states and the UT with immediate effect, as he shared the dates around 4:30 pm.
The dates declared by the EC are: Counting and results for all: May 4; Assam: Voting on April 9; Kerala: Voting on April 9; Puducherry: Voting on April 9; Tamil Nadu: Voting on April 23; West Bengal: Voting on April 23, 29.
Assam has 126 assembly constituencies; Kerala has 140; Tamil Nadu 234, and West Bengal; while Puducherry has 30.
The SIR has been a major source of political controversy, particularly in West Bengal, where it dominated the pre-election period.
The Congress earlier in the day took a dig at the Commission, claiming that the Model Code of Conduct stands for "Modi's Code of Campaigning."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut went further, calling the commission an "extended branch" of the BJP and suggesting that its press conference might as well have been held at the BJP office.
