Ahead of elections on April 9, a tribal organisation from Assam has urged indigenous communities to either boycott the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or deny it their vote.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday (April 7) said there is no anti-incumbency sentiments in Kerala and that the electorate continued to favour the Left Democratic Front (LDF) despite the short campaign period, which is a significant setback for the Opposition.

Ahead of polls to five States this month, Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday (April 7) reminded of an instruction that allows a returning officer to recommend a repoll at a polling station where webcasting is found to be deliberately interrupted.

The EC officials were responding to a question on the possibility of disruptions at polling stations by political workers and ways to deal with such instances.

The officials said if a returning officer is convinced of a mala-fide intent in webcasting going off air at a polling station, he can explain the circumstances to the election authority while recommending a repoll under the “adjourned poll” instruction.- PTI

The high-voltage campaign, fraught with accusations and promises galore, for the elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly ended at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (April 7).

The polls will be held on April 9 to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates. - PTI

In a rare convergence this election season, three candidates contesting from different Assembly constituencies are residing within a 100-metre stretch in a single neighbourhood in the city, drawing attention to E.V.R. Periyar Nagar, popularly known as Periyar Nagar, as an unusual political cluster.

Predicting electoral outcomes in Tamil Nadu has never been straightforward, particularly in Assembly elections. The entry of TVK and of Mr. Vijay, a political greenhorn with Chief Ministerial ambitions, has only complicated the arithmetic further.

Residents of Kongarpalayam village near T.N. Palayam in Erode district, on Tuesday (April 7, 2026), blocked the campaign vehicle the DMK candidate and prevented him from entering the village, forcing him to leave the spot.

Villagers, who had earlier resolved to boycott the upcoming Assembly election, had put up banners at prominent places stating that no political party should enter the village for vote-seeking.

Leema Rose, wife of the lottery baron S.Martin and the AIADMK candidate for Lalgudi in Tiruchi district, has declared assets worth ₹1,049 crore, making her one of the richest candidates in TN.

Opposing fronts in Kerala are making a final flurry of efforts to woo voters, with open campaigning for the pivotal 2026 Assembly elections ending at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (April 7, 2026).

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar made their closing arguments in separate press conferences in the morning. 

As 30 constituencies in the Union Territory of Puducherry go to polls on April 9, 2026, here are some key takeaways from past voting trends, close contests and more.

Following objections raised by AIADMK agents, the nomination filed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate K.A. Sengottaiyan for contesting from Gobichettipalayam Assembly constituency was kept on hold during scrutiny on Tuesday.

Returning Officer S. Sivanandham, who is also the Sub-Collector, directed Mr. Sengottaiyan, who is also a former AIADMK Minister, to furnish clarifications by 5 p.m.

M. Swaraj, CPI(M) State secretariat member in Kerala, has said that the Congress has a track record of “transitioning into the BJP” in several parts of the country and that such a transformation would be “faster” in Kerala.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that names of people belonging to specific communities were deleted from the post-SIR voter rolls in the State.

Addressing a rally at Chakdaha in Nadia district, Ms. Banerjee said that the TMC will stand by those whose names were excluded from the voter rolls, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

According to latest Election Commission data, nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal after the SIR process.

Ms. Banerjee claimed that following her intervention in the Supreme Court, around 32 lakh names out of nearly 60 lakh cases under ‘adjudication’ had been restored.

“Names were being removed from official records by targeting specific communities,” the CM alleged.

-PTI

Kerala’s Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and the State Police Chief (SPC) demanding an investigation into a letter being circulated on social media allegedly using his forged letterhead, purporting to be sent to the KPCC president regarding the UDF’s candidate selection.

The Election Commission of India has issued an advisory on the beginning of the 48-hour silent period in view of the upcoming Assembly Elections in West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

In the advisory, the ECI has issued strict guidelines for media platforms to ensure a fair voting environment.

Read about it here:

All higher educational institutions in Puducherry will remain closed from April 8 to 10 due to the Assembly elections in the Union Territory, Director of Higher and Technical Education A. S Sivakumar has said. Polling in Puducherry is scheduled on April 9, 2026.

West Bengal faces a high-stakes election as Mamata Banerjee battles anti-incumbency and voter deletions, with insights from Shiv Sahay Singh.

Puducherry heads to the polls on April 9, 2026, with counting on May 4. The contest features a late AINRC-BJP seat-sharing deal, coordination issues within the Congress-DMK alliance, and the presence of rebel candidates and new entrants like TVK. With multiple players and shifting loyalties, the election remains open and closely contested. Here’s all you need to know.

Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin claimed that the BJP wanted to take full control of the Union Territory just as it wanted to gain control of Tamil Nadu through Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK.

Campaigning for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance candidates, Mr. Udhayanidhi said Puducherry people never allowed hate politics in this land of love.

“Today in such UT, the infiltration of fascist BJP forces has increased significantly. It has become a testing ground for all of the BJP’s anti-people policies. It is riding on the shoulders of AINRC, just as it is riding on the shoulders of Palaniswami-led AIADMK in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

The BJP’s anti-people policies include the National Education Policy and through it, the caste-based education system ( kula kalvi thittam) has been introduced, he alleged.

“They are implementing schemes that would ruin the future generations in Puducherry. But Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin effectively halted the BJP’s conspiracies from entering the state,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said while addressing a poll rally in Mudaliarpet.

-PTI

Accusing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of carrying out “a fake campaign” over the utilisation of the funds collected by the Congress to build houses for the landslide-displaced families at Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad, K.C. Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and MP, challenged the Kerala government to carry out an investigation into the allegations of wrongdoing.

Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has announced a special promotional offer to boost voter participation ahead of the elections on April 9.

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Campaigning for the April 9 elections to the Assembly of the Puducherry Union territory will end on Tuesday evening as political parties, independent candidates and rebel candidates of political parties were in a last-ditch attempt to impress voters.

Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions of the Union Territory (UT) together have thirty seats in the Assembly.

A total of 294 candidates are in the fray. The upcoming poll is a prestige fight for the NDA and INDIA bloc.

-PTI

As Kerala gears up for the crucial 2026 Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan finds himself at a pivotal crossroads in his political career

A dance video featuring Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Anu Kumari and other election officials is making waves as election officials step up their efforts to woo young voters to the polling stations for the April 9 Assembly polls in Kerala.

The 1.33 minute video, on the theme every vote counts, has Mr. Kelkar dancing on the seashore with top officials involved in the conduct of elections including Ms. Kumari - the District Collector being the District Election Officer - and Assistant Collector Sivasakthivel C.

Voter apathy among the younger generation has been an area of concern in Kerala for election officials.

The video was shot at Hotel KTDC Samudra, Kovalam, as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities in Thiruvananthapuram district to ensure maximum voter participation, especially among the younger generation, the district administration said.

Read more here

Not even one section of society has refrained from protesting against the “all-round failure” of the DMK government, Amma MakkalMunnetraKazhagam (AMMK) founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran said in Chennai on Monday.

Seeking support for his party’s nominee G. Senthamizhan in Saidapet, he alleged the DMK regime had not kept its electoral promises given in 2021. Yet, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was now calling his party’s manifesto the “superstar,” thinking that people were “fools”.

But, the people were getting ready to “bring an end” to the DMK government, he said. Mr. Dhinakaran called upon electors to vote for the National Democratic Alliance in the State. Only when Tamil Nadu maintained a “cordial relationship” with the Centre, it could secure adequate funds, an aspect of which was known to the people, he said. 

On the final day of filing nominations for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, scheduled to be held on April 23, several candidates submitted their papers to Returning Officers in various constituencies in the city on Monday.

Former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan filed her nomination papers at the Mylapore Taluk office. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, along with members of the BJP and AIADMK, accompanied her.

AIADMK Women’s Wing Secretary and former Minister B. Valarmathi also filed her nomination papers for the Thousand Lights Assembly constituency. Accompanied by party office-bearers, she submitted the documents to the Returning Officer at the Greater Chennai Corporation Zonal Office in Nungambakkam. 

Read more here: 

A total of 100 candidates - 63 women and 37 women - filed their nominations on the final day on Monday for contesting in eight Assembly segments in Tiruppur district.

So far, 193 candidates - 133 males and 60 females - have filed nominations in the eight constituencies.

In Dharapuram and Avinashi SC constituencies, there were 17 and 26 candidates respectively.

Union Minister L. Murugan filed his nomination for contesting in Avanashi constituency. State Minister M.P. Saminathan filed his nomination for Kangayam constituency for which there are 19 other candidates.c

Read more on this here

The open campaigning for the April 9 Assembly elections will come to an end at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar has said.

Mr. Kelkar said his office has initiated measures to ensure that the 48-hour silence period is strictly enforced in the State. Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deals with ‘Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour fixed for conclusion of poll.’

During this period, convening or holding public meetings or processions in connection with the election; displays of election matter by means of cinema, television or other similar means, or propagation of election matter by holding musical concerts, theatrical performances or other entertainment are prohibited.

Publication of political advertisements in newspapers on the election day and the day before it require the clearance of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).