India, March 15 -- Elections to Assam's 126-member assembly will be held on April 9, five days ahead of Bohag Bihu (Rongali Bihu), the state's biggest festival marking the Assamese New Year, and the results will be declared on May 4, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Sunday.

The announcement has set the stage for what is expected to be a keenly fought contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress-led groupings.

March 23 will be the last date for filing nominations, which can be withdrawn by March 26. This will be the first assembly election after the 2023 delimitation that resulted in large-scale restructuring of boundaries of the 126 seats and the special revision (SR) of the elec...