Assembly Election 2026 ECI unveils poll schedule today; check details

The Election Commission of India ECI on Sunday announced the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala Assam Tamil Nadu West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry with polling set to begin on April 9As per the schedule voting in Assam Kerala and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 9 Tamil Nadu will also vote in a single phase on April 23 West Bengal will go to polls in two phases with the first phase scheduled for April 23 and the second phase on April 29Counting of votes for all four states and the Union Territory will be held on May 4Addressing a press conference in New Delhi Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar described the elections as a ldquofestival of priderdquo and urged firsttime voters to participate actively in the democratic processldquoMy dear friends you are about to step into one of the most important responsibilities of your life exercising your democratic right the right to vote I urge you to participate enthusiastically in this great democratic exercise and cast your vote with pride responsibility and confidencerdquo he saidKumar emphasised that young voters play a crucial role in shaping the future of both their states and the nationThe Chief Election Commissioner was accompanied at the briefing by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek JoshiThe ECI said a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has already been conducted in all four states and Puducherry and the final votersrsquo lists have been publishedECI reviews poll preparedness in electionbound statesEarlier this month Kumar along with the Election Commissioners visited West Bengal and other pollbound states to review election preparedness and assess arrangements for conducting free and fair electionsWest Bengal has 294 Assembly seats with the main contest expected between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP The TMC led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been in power in the state since 2011In Assam the battle for 126 Assembly seats is likely to be fought primarily between the BJPled National Democratic Alliance and the Indian National CongressKerala will see a contest for its 140 Assembly seats mainly between the ruling Left Democratic Front LDF and the United Democratic Front UDF The BJPled NDA is also in the fray with the BJP planning to contest around 100 seats while its allies Bharat Dharma Jana Sena and Twenty20 are expected to contest the remaining seatsFor the 234member Assembly in Tamil Nadu political parties have intensified their campaign efforts and are finalising seatsharing arrangements within their respective alliancesPuducherry will hold elections for all 30 constituencies of its Legislative Assembly The Congressled alliance includes the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam DMK and the Communist Party of India CPI while the opposition alliance comprises the All India NR Congress the BJP and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam AIADMKThe ECI has also appointed central observers under the powers granted by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act 1951 to assist in conducting free and fair elections and overseeing the electoral process at the field levelBypolls to eight Assembly constituencies on April 9 and April 23 counting on May 4CEC said bypolls to five seats in Goa Karnataka Nagaland and Tripura will be held on April 9 while voting in three constituencies in Gujarat and Maharashtra will take place on April 23Counting of votes for all eight constituencies will be conducted on May 4 the same day as the results of the Assembly elections in other statesThe bypolls were necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs in these constituenciesThe Assembly segments going to polls are Ponda in Goa Bagalkot and Davangere South in Karnataka Koridang in Nagaland Dharmanagar in Tripura Umreth in Gujarat and Rahuri and Baramati in MaharashtraWith Agency inputs