Puducherry will go to polls in a single phase on April 6, while counting of votes will take place on May 2, announced the Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arora on Friday. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force in Puducherry with the announcement of the poll schedule.
As per the poll schedule, the last date of nominations is March 19, the scrutiny of nominations is March 20 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 22. The date of polling will take place on April 2 and counting of votes will take place on May 2.
The term of the Puducherry Assembly was to expire on 8 June, 2021 but was dissolved on February 22 after the government lost the trust vote. On February 24, the Union Government approved Puducherry Lieutenant governor (LG) Tamilisai Soundararajan's recommendation to suspend the existing assembly in the Union territory. After the Congress cabinet and Chief Minister resigned on Monday, nobody staked a claim to form a government in Puducherry. Currently, the President's rule is in place in the UT.
In view of the ensuing pandemic, several restrictions have been put in place. Door-to-door campaigning has been limited to five people at a time while roadshows with only five-vehicle convoys allowed. Postal voting will be allowed for persons over 80 years of age. The expenditure limit for candidates in Puducherry has been capped at Rs 24 lakhs.
The Puducherry Assembly has a total of 33 seats, of which five are reserved and three members are nominated by Union Government through the Lt Governor. A total of 30 members of the Assembly are elected directly by the voters.
Puducherry may see a three-way fight in 2021, with the Congress, DMK and the NDA squaring off against each other. The DMK, which is an ally of the Congress, had expressed interest to contest the 2021 election alone. The Congress has been hit by defections with at least three of its MLAs moving to the BJP. The NR-Congress and the AIADMK are likely to be a part of the NDA alliance.