2023 election cycle starts with 3 states next month

The 2023 assembly elections season kicked off on Wednesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll schedule for Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland next month, setting the stage for a fierce political battle in India's northeast.

- Deeksha Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI: 

Voting for assembly elections in Tripura will be held in a single phase on February 16, and in Nagaland and Meghalaya on February 27. The results will be declared on March 2, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said during a press conference.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is part of the ruling coalition in all three states, which all have 60 seats in the assembly.

The Commission, led by CEC Kumar, and election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, appealed to all the voters to participate in the "festival of democracy". "I urge all the voters to cast their ballot and be a part of this festival of democracy," Kumar said while announcing the dates at the press conference. "The Commission is making all efforts to conduct an inclusive election." The announcement marks the beginning of a packed assembly elections schedule in 2023, which will see polls in nine states in addition to possible elections in Jammu & Kashmir.

The three states that go to the polls in February may be small with one Lok Sabha and six assembly seats - but are likely to see pitched political contests, especially in Tripura and Meghalaya, where the ruling coalitions appear uneasy.