India, March 16 -- The election schedule for five assemblies announced on Sunday has thrown out quite a few surprises -fewer phases, a condensed 20-day voting period, but longer gaps between the three polling days and a delayed counting.

The previous round of elections for these five assemblies in 2021 had as many as eight voting days spread across almost a month, while votes were counted on the third day after the last polling date. This time, votes would be counted on the fifth day after the last day of voting. The gap is longer between the first two days of voting - first on April 9 and the second on April 23 -- while the last polling day will be on April 29.

The last assembly election, in Bihar in November 2025, also saw two polling...