Guwahati: The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, while cautioning political parties and campaigners against the misuse of artificial intelligence and deepfake content during the election campaign.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the poll body would closely monitor misinformation and AI-generated deepfakes that could mislead voters.
He said nodal officers in every state would keep a watch on such cases and take swift action, including ordering content takedowns and registering FIRs wherever necessary.
“Elections in four states and one Union Territory shall be violence- and inducement-free. The Commission will take strict action if anything contrary is noticed,” he said.
According to the schedule announced by the Commission, Assembly elections in Assam and Kerala will be held in a single phase on April 9. Polling in Puducherry will also take place on the same day.
In Tamil Nadu, voting for all 234 Assembly constituencies will be conducted in a single phase on April 23.
For West Bengal’s 294-member Assembly, the elections will take place in two phases. Polling for 152 seats will be held on April 23, while the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29.
The Chief Election Commissioner said nearly 17.4 crore voters across the four states and the Union Territory are eligible to participate in the elections. To facilitate the process, around 2.18 lakh polling stations will be set up and nearly 25 lakh personnel will be deployed for election duties.
Polling percentage updates will be released by election officials every two hours during the voting process, Kumar added.
Explaining the decision to limit polling in West Bengal to two phases, compared to eight phases in the 2021 Assembly elections. Kumar said the Commission had held extensive consultations, including with political parties, before finalising the schedule.
The tenure of the Assam Assembly is set to end on May 20, while the terms of the Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal Assemblies will conclude on May 23, May 10 and May 7 respectively. The Puducherry Assembly has 33 seats, while Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have 126, 140, 234 and 294 seats respectively.