The Election Commission has released the full schedule for by-elections to six seats spread across four states and union territories. Five assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat will go to the polls on October 6, and voters in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam will find out the outcome on October 9.
The full timeline, from nominations to counting
According to the schedule released by the Election Commission, candidates can start filing their nomination papers from September 9. The last date for filing nominations has been fixed as September 16. The very next day, September 17, all nomination papers will undergo scrutiny. Candidates who wish to withdraw their names will be able to do so until September 19. Voting across all six seats will then take place together on October 6, and three days later, on October 9, results will be declared after counting.
Which seats are going to the polls
In Tamil Nadu, by-elections will be held for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly seats. In addition, voting will take place for the Thattanchavady assembly seat in Puducherry. West Bengal has two seats on the list, Rejinagar and Nandigram. Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha seat is also going to a by-election. Taken together, that adds up to five assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, six seats in all, going through the voting process at the same time.
All eyes on Nandigram
With this announcement, political activity is expected to pick up pace in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam. Among these, the Nandigram seat in West Bengal is likely to draw particular attention from political parties and the public, since it has long remained a talking point in the state's politics. In the coming weeks, activity around finalising candidates and campaigning is expected to intensify across all six seats.
