New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Election Commission set the dates for the next assembly elections in Tripura on February 16 and the Nagaland and Meghalaya assemblies on February 27, with the counting of votes scheduled for March 2.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar's announcement at a press conference here marked the official start of the first round of Assembly elections in the new year. In this round, nine states will be voting, and these elections are seen as crucial factors toward the all-important Lok Sabha election in 2024.
The three northeastern states that will be holding elections this year may be minor in terms of electoral size, but they hold much more political significance. The Congress and the Left are attempting to regain lost influence as the BJP exerts maximum effort to maintain power in Tripura and spread its footprints in the two other states.—Inputs from Agencies