Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha assembly elections to be held on April 19, May 13
The polls in the four states will be held along with the world’s largest democratic exercise—the Lok Sabha elections—and the results will be declared on June 4
Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held on April 19 and in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on May 13 while the results will be declared on June 4, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Saturday.
The polls in the four states will be held along with the world’s largest democratic exercise—the Lok Sabha elections. The first phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on April 19, and the seventh and the last on June 1.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in Arunachal Pradesh in 2019, winning 41 of the 60 seats. The Janata Dal (United) got seven, the National People’s Party (NPP) five, Congress four, and the Peoples Party of Arunachal Pradesh one seat. On Wednesday, the BJP announced candidates for all 60 seats in Arunachal.
In neighbouring Sikkim, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) formed the government in 2019 as it won 17 of 32 seats. The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) won 15 seats.
The poll schedule was announced even as confusion continued over the alliance between BJP and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik held a second meeting of BJD leaders on Thursday over the alliance but there was no word on the finalisation of the tie-up.
State BJP chief Manmohan Samal, who attended a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday night, said on X on Thursday that the party will fight alone in Odisha and form the government before deleting the post. He later told reporters that the discussions continued.
In 2019, Patnaik retained Odisha’s top post for a fifth term as the BJD won 115 of the 147 assembly seats. He equalled the record of Pawan Chamling (Sikkim) and Jyoti Basu (West Bengal).
In Andhra Pradesh, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) stormed to power in 2019, winning 151 assembly seats and a vote share of 49.5%.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which won 23 assembly seats, will contest the 2024 polls in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party and the BJP. It returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after six years.