Assembly Elections 2011

Five Indian states are gearing up for the assembly elections that are going to be held from April to May in 2011. Here's a look at how West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam are preparing for the democratic process.

Veteran actress and BJP Rajya Sabha member Hema Malini being felicitated during an election campaign ahead of the Assam assembly polls in Tinsukia. (PTI Photo)

BJP President Nitin Gadkari during an election campaign ahead of the Assam assembly polls in Silchar. (PTI Photo)

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa files nomination papers for the Srirangam assembly seat at the Collectorate office in Tiruchirapalli for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa releases the party's manifesto in Tiruchirapalli ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

An EVM expert trains people during a training programme in Murshidabad for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi files his nomination papers for the Tiruvarur assembly seat ahead of the state assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta arrives with his supporters to file nomination papers at the Nagaon DC court for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

CPI candidate for the East Guwahati seat Upen Talukdar arrives in Guwahati with party supporters to file nomination papers for the upcoming Assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader and candidate for the Samaguri LAC seat Prafulla Kumar Mahanta files nomination papers at the Nagaon DC office for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

An inside view of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee office in Chennai destroyed by party workers following a dispute over candidate selection for the upcoming state assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Supporters of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Pranabjit Chaliha for the 108 Sivasagar LAC seat take out a cycle rally in Sivasagar as part of his campaign for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Members of the Mahila and Youth Congress demonstrate against the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President KV Thangabalu in Chennai during a protest against the allotment of the Mylapore assembly seat ticket to his wife. (PTI Photo)

Members of the Mahila and Youth Congress beat an effigy of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President KV Thangabalu in Chennai during a protest against the allotment of the Mylapore assembly seat ticket to his wife. (PTI Photo)

Congress candidate Himanta Biswa Sarma accompanies his supporters in Guwahati on the way to file nomination papers for the Jalukbari LAC seat for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Trinamool Congress candidate Kailash Sarma accompanies his supporters in Guwahati on the way to file nomination papers for the East Guwahati LAC seat for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Sketch artist Ramjan Hussain gives finishing touches to a sketch of Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. Sketches of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh are also seen because the cricket World Cup tournament is going on. (PTI Photo)

Trinamool Congress candidate Goutam Dev with his supporters at a rally in Siliguri as part of his campaign for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Young AIADMK supporters await their party's supremo J Jayalalithaa at an election campaign rally at Srirangam in Tiruchirapalli ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

BJP National Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi releases audio CDs with Assamese singer Vidyasagar in Guwahati for the election campaign ahead of the Assam assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Congress General Secretary and Assam incharge Digvijay Singh and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Bhubaneswar Kalita release the party's election manifesto in Guwahati for the forthcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

DMDK President Vijayakanth addresses an election campaign rally in the Collathur constituency for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa addresses a rally in Tiruchirapalli from a newly-designed campaign van for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Actress Kushboo addresses an election campaign rally for the Madurai (West) DMK candidate Ko. Thalapathy in Madurai for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

State Finance Minister and CPI(M) leader Asim Dasgupta sips tea at a roadside tea stall at Khardah in North 24 Pargana during his election campaign for the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Gadadhar Hazra, the Trinamool Congress candidate for the Nanoor LAC seat, takes out a campaign with his supporters in Birbhum for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Left Front Chairman Biman Bose (right) takes part in an election campaign for Partha Pratim Biswas (left), the CPI(M) candidate for the Tollygunge LAC seat, in Kolkata ahead of West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi escorted by security commandos as he arrives at a public meeting in Karbi Anglong for campaigning ahead of the Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

APCC President Bhubaneswar Kalita being felicitated with a traditional Assamese hat (Japi) at Gaurisagar near Sivasagar during an election campaign rally for Anjan Dutta, the candidate for the 103 Amguri LAC seat, for the upcoming Assam assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

BJP leader Arun Jaitley (right) with Guwahati MP Bijoya Chakraborty (left) and Jayanta Rajkonwar, the BJP candidate for the 108 Sivasagar LAC seat, during an election campaign rally in Sivasagar for the upcoming Assam assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Gadadhar Hazra, the candidate for the Nanoor LAC seat, seeks blessings from an elderly woman in the Birbhum district during a campaign for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly adjusts his makeup during the shooting of an ad film for the Election Commission of India at the Eden Garden stadium in Kolkata ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Vice-President Gautom Pratap Goswami (left), with senior leaders, releases the party's manifesto in Guwahati for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Queen Ojha with her supporters at a campaign rally at Roopnagar in Guwahati ahead of the Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

CPM candidate Ashok Bhattacharya, accompanied by his supporters, arrives to file his nomination papers in Siliguri for West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Neyamat Sek holds Congress and TMC flags during a campaign in the Murshidabad district ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Parikhit Bala, singer and Trinamool Congress candidate for the Sainthia LAC seat, at an election campaign with his supporters in the Birbhum district ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Actor Vadivelu addresses an election campaign rally for DMK candidate Ka. Anbalagan in Chennai ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Union Finance Minister and Senior Congress Leader Pranab Mukherjee being felicitated by party workers in Guwahati before a press conference regarding the forthcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee spends light moments with her relative's son in Kolkata before attending an election campaign for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj speaks to the media in Guwahati ahead of the Assam assembly elections. BJP MP Bijoya Chakraborty is seen on the right. (PTI Photo)

Left front supporters take out an election campaign rally in the Birbhum district ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI Photo)

Police display weapons seized during a raid in the Baranagar area of the North 24 Parganas district ahead of the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI Photo)

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi arrives for a public meeting at Dibrugarh for the upcoming Assam assembly election. (PTI Photo)

A man presents a sun caps carrying Trinamool Congress party symbol while other party symbols are seen on sale at a shop in Kolkata, on March 9, 2011.

The state assembly election of West Bengal will take place in six phases starting from April 18 2011, the counting of votes will take place on May 13, 2011. (AFP)

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani (L) and leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj pose at parliament house in New Delhi on March 23, 2011.

The ruling government and opposition clashed over the timing of debate on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement March 22 on the 'cash-for-votes' scam where the BJP gave notice for Breach of Privilege against the Prime Minister, alleging that he had misled the parliament by denying bribery during the 2008 Confidence Motion to save the Congress-led UPA government. (AFP)

Supporters of the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress get special haircuts in the Howrah district to participate in the West Bengal assembly election campaigns. (PTI)

CPI(M) leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee interacts with the media in Kolkata ahead of the state assembly polls. (PTI)

A shopkeeper in Murshidabad arranges flags bearing the symbols of various political parties ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI)

Supporters of Dilip Ghosh, the BJP candidate from the Bolpur constituency, take part in a motorcycle rally in the Birbhum district as part of his election campaign ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Ranjit Rahand, the BJP candidate from Dispur, on his way with his supporters to file nomination papers in Guwahati for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

A shopkeeper in Siliguri arranges caps designed with the symbols for various political parties ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI)

A life-size cut-out of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee erected for the West Bengal assembly election campaign in Siliguri. (PTI)

Abhijit Mukherjee, the Congress candidate from the Nalhati constituency and son of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, carries a holy chaadar at the Dada Baba shrine in the Birbhum district for a successful run at the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

A Trinamool Congress candidate of the Sagardighi Subrata Saha meets locals during an election campaign in Murshidabad ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister MK Stalin with his father M Karunanidhi, mother D Karunanidhi and other family members in Chennai before filing the nomination papers for the Kollathur assembly seat. (PTI)

Asom Gana Paraishad (AGP) President Chandra Mohan Patowari (second left) with Prafulla Kumar Mahanta (second right) and other senior leaders releasing the party's manifesto in Guwahati for the upcoming Assam assembly polls. (PTI)

Monoj Saikia, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate from the Jalukbari constituency, proceeds to file his nomination papers in Guwahati with his supporters for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

Sweets bearing different political symbols displayed at a shop to attract customers at the Howrah district ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Abhijit Mukherjee, the Congress candidate from the Nalhati constituency and son of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, offers a holy chaadar at the Dada Baba shrine in the Birbhum district for a successful run at the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury campaigns for party candidate Ananta Deka in Rangia for the forthcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

A Trinamool Congress activist gets a special haircut that shows the symbols of his party and that of the Congress in the Howrah district ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls. (PTI)

Ramendra Narayan Kalitha, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate from West Guwahati, files his nomination papers for the Assam assembly elections as his supporters wave party flags in Guwahati. (PTI)

Union Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee releases the party's manifesto with party leaders in Kolkata for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh and the party's Assam unit chief Ranjeet Dutta release the party's manifesto in Guwahati ahead of the forthcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi releases the party election manifesto in Chennai for the upcoming state assembly elections. Deputy CM MK Stalin and senior leaders are also seen. (PTI)

Union Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee releases the list of party candidates for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections in Kolkata. (PTI)

A man stitches flags of political parties in Siliguri ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

An EVM expert trains polling and presiding officers during a training programme in Guwahati for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

EVM experts train polling and presiding officers during a training programme in the Kamrup district for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)

A policeman walks past a wall painting of AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi in Kolkata created for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. (PTI)

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi arrives at a press conference in Chennai to announce the names of candidates for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. (PTI)

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President KV Thangabalu after signing an agreement in Chennai for state constituencies for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Other DMK leaders are also seen. (PTI)

KD Singh, North-East Observer of the Trinamool Congress, releases the first list of candidates for the forthcoming Assam assembly elections during a press conference in Guwahati. (PTI)

Left Front Chairman and CPI(M) State Secretary Biman Bose announces the list of candidates for Left Front parties for the upcoming West Bengal state assembly elections during a press conference in Kolkata.(PTI)

Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi being welcomed by Secretary to Lt Governor of Puducherry R. Udipta Ray upon his arrival there to review arrangements for the upcoming assembly elections. (PTI)

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) President Chandra Mohan Patowary releases the fourth list of candidates for the forthcoming assembly elections in Assam during a press conference in Guwahati. (PTI)

Women activists of CPI(M) prepare a wall graffiti in the Malda district of West Bengal for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.(PTI)

Paramilitary jawans conduct a flag march in the South Dinajpur district as part of security measures for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Left Front candidate Nayabaz Mohanta Chatterjee (L) interacts with a woman voter during his campaign in Howrah for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

A rickshaw is seen in the backdrop of a CPI(M) wall graffiti in Nadia ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

CISF personnel checking a car at Berhampore in Murshidabad as part of security measures for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Trinamool Congress and Congress supporters take part in a ritual at the Kalighat temple in Kolkata for both the continuation of the parties' alliance and success in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Trinamool Congress workers paint a wall graffiti in the Birbhum district ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Congress supporters take out a motorcycle rally during a campaign in support of Akon Bora from the Dispur constituency ahead of the upcoming Assam assembly elections in Guwahati. (PTI)

CISF personnel arrive at Papuri village in Birbhum district, one of the troubled areas of West Bengal, for the upcoming state assembly elections. (PTI)

Congress supporters take out a motorcycle rally in Amguri in support of party candidate Anjan Dutta from Amguri LAC ahead of the assembly elections in Assam. (PTI)

Trinamool Congress candidate from the Rashbehari constituency Sovondeb Chattopadhyay prepares a wall painting in Kolkata as part of his campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal assembly. (PTI)

A vendor selling flags of political parties at Krishnanagar for the campaigns ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Left Front chairman Biman Bose releases the Front's manifesto in Kolkata for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. (PTI)

Trinamool Congress workers paint a wall graffiti on the outskirts of Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal ahead of the assembly elections in the state. (PTI)

Congress supporters in the Sivasagar district during the last day of filing nomination papers for the upcoming Assam assembly elections. (PTI)