2016 Indian Assembly Election Dates, Details, Opinion polls, surveys

The chief election Commissioner of India Dr Nasim Zaidi on Friday (March 4th) officially announced the dates and other important information about the conduct of the Assembly Elections to be held to the four Indian states and one UT. With this announcement, the model code of conduct has come in to force in these states and union territory. 

The elections to the state assemblies of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry will be held on May-16 in a single phase on one day. And it will be conducted in Assam in 2 phases and in West Bengal in six phases starting from 4th April and ending on 16th May, spread over 43 days.

The counting of votes will be held on 19th May, 2016 in all these states and the results will be made known following the counting. 

This time the electronic ballot boxes (EVMs) to be used in the election will have photos attached to the names of each contestants to avoid the confusion of voters that may arise due to the increased number of fake candidates with similar names of the official candidates who can split some votes and can adversely affect the winning chances of the candidates. 

Another speciality of this election is that 'NOTA' (none of the above button) which is gaining popularity and getting more votes due to the wrong selection of candidates by some parties, also will have an official symbol. 

Even though some news channels have started collecting and airing some opinion polls and surveys to measure the winning chances of parties and candidates, seeing the pathetic failure of different survey and exit poll results conducted and declared by popular news channels and companies in the past, people have lost faith in any of them. 

The actual results of the elections will depend upon many actors. Some factors that are prevailing now and some incidents that may occur during the time of election will also influence the voters' minds. Parties particularly the oppositions in all these states are busy making alliances with other parties for a marginal victory and overthrowing the governments in power by hook or crook..!

Election time is considered as a golden period for most people particularly the mass vote bank who get money, liquor etc from all parties and contestants and many sops by the parties who lure them easily and cheat them there after for five years. The most pathetic part is that we will be forced to see many violences and deaths related to theses elections. 

The lessons to learn from the Indian Assembly Elections, 2012. Is Rahul Gandhi Responsible for the defeat...?

Now the assembly Elections for the five Indian states are over and their results are also officially declared. In all the cases, the real results were very much a surprise for both the winners and the losers....! All the exit poll and post poll surveys and opinions were proven to be wrong...! The mandate of the voters were beyond the expectations of any party or the contestants...!

Though Mr Rahul Gandhi accepted responsibility for the poor performance of the Congress Party in UP, for which he campaigned and traveled day and night extensively for many months, forgoing food and sleep, he is not at all to be blamed for the poor show of the grand old party in UP.

In-fact political analysts, think-tanks and observers feel and believe that it is only because of the effort of Mr Rahul Gandhi, Congress could improve its number of seats in UP in the just concluded election, than the number won in 2007...! Had Rahul not entered in the campaign and worked as he did, Congress would have got no seats in UP....!

There are many factors that distanced the voters of the states with the oldest political party which they were adopting for many years. May be the dirty 'caste feeling' also have played some role. The different statements made by different Congress leaders have surely harmed the party. The open challenge declared by Central Minister Mr Salman Khurshid on the Chief Election Commission may also have injured the party, no doubt...!

The frequently breaking relationships of the UPA's alliance parties, like Mamata Banerjee's TMC and Sharad Pawars's NCP with the Congress party, has also vexed a section of the voters to some extend, which is also a major reason for the great fall of the grand old party of India...!

Congress voters in the country are not in a mood to accept the 'responsibility' of Mr Rahul Gandhi or are not ready to digest if anyone blames him responsible for the defeat of the party in the Assembly Elections 2012. 

Mamata Banerjee's TMC party justifies her nephew slapping COP in public

The incident of slapping a police officer on duty in public by the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is an act of taking the law in to hands and a grave offence showing his political might and rowdyism. The incident has attracted wide criticism across the nation as there is already a talk that the TMC chief supports and backs the public offences done by her kith and kin.

It is more surprising that a responsible minister in her government by name Firhad Hakim, representing Trinamul Congress Party, terming the incident as a small and simple one and supporting it saying, such incidents of scuffles between drivers and cops is a common thing in all cities of the country.

The W.B CM's nephew, Akash Banerjee, drove his car on the wrong side of the road yesterday and was stopped by a traffic police man on duty. Angered at this he slapped the police man and was later arrested for that serious crime.

Common people in the country are having a feeling of insecurity and fear as that the rich and the influential are taking the law in their hands and acting rudely ridiculing the rules of the land. The coalition governments that are afraid of their arrogant and rude allies are not in a position to take stern action on the guilty for the fear of 'with-drawing support' ...!