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At noon today, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to conduct a press briefing, where it will reveal the polling dates and provide updates on the preparedness for the impending legislative assembly elections in five states: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram.
In the 2018 elections, four of these states experienced single-phase polling, except for Chhattisgarh, which had a two-phase polling due to Naxal concerns.
The period leading up to the elections witnessed intense political maneuvering, with parties engaging in blame games, attacks, and counterattacks in their efforts to win over voters. Following today’s announcement, political parties will need to carefully strategize their campaigns to avoid any violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which will be enforced promptly after the polling dates are disclosed.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, the BJP and Congress are engaged in a direct battle. While the saffron party governs Madhya Pradesh, Congress holds power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. These elections come just months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP-led NDA is aiming for a third consecutive term.
Opposition parties have formed a massive alliance, the I.N.D.I.A bloc, to challenge the government led by PM Narendra Modi in the general elections. Over 25 parties have united for this cause. However, the opposition bloc has yet to announce their candidate for the Prime Ministerial position and finalize seat distributions.
Notably, the alliance appears to be focused primarily on the parliamentary elections, as most parties continue to contest the assembly elections independently.
