Assembly poll date announcement soon
Amid speculation that the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament may be curtailed owing to the impending Assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory, there are indications that the election dates are likely to be announced soon.
The four poll-bound states are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry. MPs from these states are keen to spend as much time as possible back home to prepare and then campaign for the polls.
West Bengal will witness a keen battle between the Left and the Trinamul Congress, which is threatening to unseat the former from Writers Buildings which it has occupied for over three decades.
Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee will be hoping to wrest power from the Left particularly as her party has fared well in various local elections as there is widespread disillusionment with Left rule.
Ms Banerjee’s party which is a key Congress ally at the Centre will be having a pre-poll tie-up with the Congress for the assembly polls for it to be able to ensure that the Left is defeated. However, given the support the Trinamul is enjoying in the state at present, it is likely that it is Mamatadi who will be calling the shots where seat-sharing with the Congress is concerned.
With polls in Bengal just months away, the state in fact has seen increasing violence and blood-shed with Left cadres clashing with the Trinamul workers. The escalated violence has also claimed several lives from among the supporters of both the Left and the Trinamul.
The violence, in fact, has also drawn the Election Commission’s attention which has not only expressed its concern but also sent two teams of independent observers to review the law and order situation in the state.
In Assam, the Congress would be hoping to retain power for a third term and it is unlikely that it will have any alliance with any party for the forthcoming polls. As for Kerala, the Congress-led UDF wil be hoping to unseat the CPI-M-led LDF.
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