New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the schedule for Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry in March, a senior ECI official confirmed on Tuesday, requesting anonymity. He added that "polling in West Bengal (WB) is likely to extend till the last week of April and the first week of May." In Assam, where the Assembly's term ends on May 20, political parties have urged the Commission to restrict polling to two phases in view of Bihu festivities and administrative pressure. Tamil Nadu, where the Assembly's term ends on May 10, the SIR is nearing completion, with the final electoral roll to be published on February 28. In Kerala, where the term of the assembly ends on May 23, the SIR is also in its final stages. Kerala voted in one phase in 2016 and in 2021. In Puducherry, over one lakh names were removed in the draft SIR before the claims and objections stage. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government, after dillydallying for over six months, complied with the Election Commission's directive to register FIRs against four state officers and a data entry operator. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the poll panel, describing it as "Tughlaqi Commission which was terrorising the voters". htc...