News Desk:
- West Bengal Assembly election in two phases on 23 and 29 April
- Voting in Puducherry, Kerala and Assam on 9 April
- Voting in Tamil Nadu on 23 April
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry (India Assembly Elections 2026). The dates were declared during a press conference held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced the election programme in the presence of Election Commissioners S. S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
With the announcement of the schedule, the election process has formally begun across all five regions.
West Bengal Assembly Elections in Two Phases
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be conducted in two phases.
First Phase
- Notification to be issued: 30 March
- Last date for filing nominations: 6 April
- Scrutiny of nominations: 7 April
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 9 April
- Polling date: 23 April
Second Phase
- Notification to be issued: 2 April
- Last date for filing nominations: 9 April
- Scrutiny of nominations: 10 April
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 13 April
- Polling date: 29 April
The counting of votes will take place on 4 May.
West Bengal has a total of 6.44 crore eligible voters, including 3.28 crore men and 3.16 crore women.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Schedule
In Tamil Nadu, voting for all 234 Assembly constituencies will take place in a single phase.
- Notification to be issued: 30 March
- Last date for filing nominations: 6 April
- Scrutiny of nominations: 7 April
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 9 April
- Polling date: 23 April
- Counting of votes: 4 May
The state has 5.57 crore voters, of which 2.77 crore are male voters and 2.89 crore are female voters.
Puducherry Assembly Election Schedule
The Union Territory of Puducherry will also vote in a single phase for its 30 Assembly seats.
- Notification to be issued: 16 March
- Last date for filing nominations: 23 March
- Scrutiny of nominations: 24 March
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 26 March
- Polling date: 9 April
- Counting of votes: 4 May
Puducherry has a total electorate of 9.44 lakh voters, comprising 4.43 lakh male and 5 lakh female voters.
Kerala Assembly Election Schedule
Kerala will go to the polls in a single phase to elect representatives to its 140-member Assembly.
- Notification to be issued: 16 March
- Last date for filing nominations: 23 March
- Scrutiny of nominations: 24 March
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 26 March
- Polling date: 9 April
- Counting of votes: 4 May
The state has 2.70 crore voters, including 1.31 crore men and 1.38 crore women.
Assam Assembly Election in a Single Phase
Assam will also hold its Assembly election in a single phase for all 126 constituencies.
- Notification to be issued: 16 March
- Last date for filing nominations: 23 March
- Scrutiny of nominations: 24 March
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: 26 March
- Polling date: 9 April
- Counting of votes: 4 May
All election-related procedures in the state must be completed by 6 May.
For the elections in Assam, 31,486 polling stations will be set up across the state. Of these, 27,711 polling stations will be located in rural areas, while 3,775 will be in urban areas.
Assam has a total electorate of 2.50 crore voters, with 1.25 crore male voters and 1.25 crore female voters.
Polling Infrastructure Across Five Regions
During the press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that a total of 2.19 lakh polling stations will be set up across the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry for the conduct of the elections.
Altogether, 17.4 crore voters are eligible to vote in these regions.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the electoral process has officially begun across all five areas.
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