Assembly polls ahead of 2024 LS elections to keep political pot boiling this year

The Assembly elections in Karnataka may be over, but a series of other state polls this year will keep the political pot boiling till the 2024 Lok Sabha battle.

At least three Assembly elections could also take place alongside the Lok Sabha polls. After Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will go to polls this year. The north eastern states of Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya were the first to have elections in 2023.

The last part of 2023 will witness a series of assembly polls with terms of legislative assemblies of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana ending on different dates in December this year and January 2024.

While the term of the 40-member Mizoram assembly ends on December 17, the tenures of the Chhattisgarh and the Madhya Pradesh legislative assemblies conclude on January 3 and January 6, 2024, respectively.

The tenures of the Rajasthan and Telangana assemblies end on January 14 and January 16, 2024, respectively. Polls in these five states being held together cannot be ruled out at this stage. Besides the scheduled polls, assembly elections in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ruled out this year.

Sources had earlier said that elections in Jammu and Kashmir may be held in the summer of 2023 after winter conditions subside, and the timing would depend on the security scenario. After the conclusion of the 62-day long Amarnath Yatra from July 1 to August 31, a possible window sometime in October this year could be available for polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha are ending on different dates in June next year. Since Lok Sabha polls are usually held in April-May, there is a likelihood that assembly elections in the three states could be held simultaneously with the parliamentary exercise.