Five states head for assembly polls expected in February and March 2027

Five state assemblies complete their terms in the first half of 2027, and reports expect the Election Commission to hold all five elections together in February and March. No schedule had been announced as of 11 October.

When the terms end

The Manipur Assembly’s term ends on 13 March 2027, followed by Goa on 14 March, Punjab on 16 March and Uttarakhand on 28 March, News24 reported on 7 September. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly’s term expires on 22 May 2027. An assembly’s five-year term runs from its first sitting, which is why the dates differ from the polling dates in 2022.

Key dates before the 2027 assembly polls

1. 16-30 Nov 2026Census self-enumeration window in UP, Punjab, Goa and non-snowbound Uttarakhand.
2. 1 Dec 2026 to 4 Jan 2027Census population enumeration in the same four states; reference date 5 January 2027.
3. 13 Mar 2027Manipur Assembly's term ends.
4. 14 Mar 2027Goa Assembly's term ends.
5. 16 Mar 2027Punjab Assembly's term ends.
6. 28 Mar 2027Uttarakhand Assembly's term ends.
7. 22 May 2027Uttar Pradesh Assembly's term ends.

Section 15 of the Representation of the People Act allows the Election Commission to notify an election up to six months before an assembly’s term ends, Business Standard explained in June. Holding all five together before Manipur’s term ends would put Uttar Pradesh’s vote about two months ahead of its deadline. News24 reported that Uttar Pradesh may vote in more than one phase.

The census was moved for the polls

The Registrar General of India notified on 5 September that population enumeration for Census 2027 in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and the non-snowbound parts of Uttarakhand will run from 1 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, with a revisional round from 5 to 9 January. The reference date for these states is 00:00 hours on 5 January 2027, against 1 March 2027 for most of the country, ETV Bharat reported. ETV Bharat reported that the count was being advanced in the states likely to go to the polls early next year. News24 reported that census house listing in Manipur has been postponed.

Where the voter rolls stand

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is complete in three of the five states, News24 reported. Uttar Pradesh’s roll fell 13.2% to 13.4 crore, Goa’s fell 10.2% to 10.6 lakh, and about 7.6% of Manipur’s voters were removed, leaving 19.3 lakh.

Roll revision in the five states

• 13.2%fall in Uttar Pradesh's roll after SIR, to 13.4 crore
• 10.2%fall in Goa's roll, to 10.6 lakh
• 20.66 lakhnames struck from Punjab's draft roll in August
• 12.8 lakhPunjab voters not matched to the 2003 roll and issued notices

Punjab and Uttarakhand await final rolls. Punjab’s draft, published on 13 August, removed 20.66 lakh names, about 9.7% of the June list, and a further 12.8 lakh voters who could not be matched to the 2003 rolls were asked to submit documents, The Tribune reported.

How the parties are preparing

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP president Nitin Nabin chaired a meeting of about 65 state in-charges and co-in-charges in Delhi at the end of September, ANI reported, with organisational meetings planned in Lucknow on 1 and 2 October and a two-day meeting proposed in Mathura on 3 and 4 October with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Senior Samajwadi Party and Congress leaders have stressed the unity of their alliance, but MPs from each party have backed different leaders as its face, PTI reported. In Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 August, and ThePrint reported that reviving the Akali-BJP alliance was on the agenda. Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon said: “Anyone can go and meet the PM. We are going to contest alone on all seats.” Punjab has 117 seats.

Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are due to vote later in 2027. See the election calendar for all dates.