The state Assembly elections to Bihar, Manipur, Orissa and haryana are to be held in three phases on February 12,17 and 22. The chief election commissioner M.S.Gill said in Delhi that Bihar will go to polls on all three days, Manipur and Orissa will have a two-day election while Haryana will have a single -day poll.The elections to the Orissa Assembly will be held on February 17 and 22 while that in Manipur will be held on February 12 and 22. Haryana will elect its Assembly on the last day.

The Congress has termed the Eelection Commission's decision to hold elections in Bihar before the expiry of the Assembly tenure there as politically motivated saying that it had acted on the BJP government's influence since it was obvious that the NDA did not want to face the people after the placing of the Union and Railway Budgets. The dates of the Bihar Assembly elections had thus been advanced. The Congress has demanded that the Commission immediately postpone the dates to march so that the people can decide and vote after seeing the Budgets and after the official expiry of the Assembly term.