Assembly elections in Punjab and four other states, slated for early 2027, will be held on schedule, with the second phase of Census likely to be advanced to ensure there is no overlap.Sources say there is no current plan to advance elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, scheduled through February and March 2027.“Assembly elections will be held on their scheduled time and political parties will have ample time to prepare and plan,” said the source, adding that the second phase of the Census, slated for February 2027 — around the same time as Assembly elections — might be advanced.Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal had recently claimed that the Punjab Assembly elections could be advanced to November.The second phase of the Census exercise — population enumeration — is crucial as it will capture detailed demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration, and fertility-related information of individuals across households. This phase will also include caste enumeration.The first phase of Census — Houselisting and Housing Census — which started in April this year, will go on till September.