Five assemblies, one schedule: the Commission sets the March calendar

The Election Commission of India announced on March 15 the schedule for elections to five legislative assemblies, completing a calendar that had been expected since the assembly terms began to expire. Polls are to be held in phases in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with counting to follow on the last polling day.

• Assam — assembly term in expiry ahead of the rest of the country
• West Bengal — the largest of the five contests by electorate
• Kerala — voting in more than one phase
• Tamil Nadu — voting in more than one phase
• Puducherry — the union territory among the five

The announcement does more than set dates. With the schedule notified, the model code of conduct is in force across the five jurisdictions: government machinery cannot be used for campaigning, transfers of officials become visible political events, and the discretionary spending that follows a code comes under scrutiny that does not exist outside a poll period.

The phase structure matters more than the headlines suggest. An assembly of Kerala's size polled across multiple days runs its campaign as several local campaigns with one state-wide conclusion, which changes how parties sequence candidates and how the counting day is read. The Commission's schedule, not the campaigns, fixes that sequencing.