The Election Commission will announce the dates at 4.30 PM today.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of the four states are coming to an end in May-June.

In Puducherry, President’s Rule has been imposed and the assembly kept under suspended animation after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence.

In Bengal, companies of central security forces began arriving this week. It was reported that by February 25, at least 125 companies will arrive in the state to maintain law and order during the election campaign. According to Election Commission (EC) officials, there will be 60 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 30 companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 25 companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) and five companies each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Whereas, in Tamil Nadu, keen to wrest power from the ruling AIADMK in the forthcoming elections, the DMK has started distributing application forms seeking aspirants wishing to contest the polls on the party’s symbol – the ‘rising sun’. The process of handing out application forms has been underway since February 17.