Campaigning for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections and the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, scheduled for April 23, 2026, ended on Tuesday evening. In West Bengal, voting in the first phase will be held for 152 seats, while the remaining 142 seats will go to polls on April 29. All 234 seats in Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23. Polling has already been completed in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry. Counting of votes for all five states will take place on May 4. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that the Commission will leave no stone unturned to ensure free and fair elections.
West Bengal: Polling on 152 out of 294 seats
The West Bengal Assembly has a total of 294 seats, and at least 148 are required to form the government. The main contest in the state is between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress and the Left Front are also in the fray, although they failed to win a single seat in the 2021 elections. Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP are contesting all 294 seats, while the Left Front and Congress have fielded candidates in 293 seats.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress won 215 out of 294 seats in West Bengal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 77 seats. The remaining two seats went to ‘others’, with the Congress and CPI(M) failing to win any seat. In the 2016 elections, the Trinamool had won 211 seats, the BJP 3, Congress 44, the Left Front 32, and others 4.
This time, the biggest issue in the state has been the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. Around 9 million names were removed, accounting for nearly 12% of the total electorate before the revision. About 6 million were marked as absent or deceased, while cases of nearly 2.7 million voters are pending in various tribunals, largely involving Muslim and Matua communities. The current number of registered voters stands at 68.2 million. Other key issues include the Citizenship Amendment Act, border security and infiltration, corruption, women’s safety, employment, and development.
Two days ahead of polling, the Election Commission of India on Tuesday removed police observer Hitesh Chaudhary from the Nandigram Assembly constituency and replaced him with Akhilesh Singh. The move came a day after the All India Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint against Chaudhary, alleging inaction on its complaints against Bharatiya Janata Party workers. The poll body has deployed 84 police observers across the state.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, around 23% of candidates contesting the elections have declared criminal cases against themselves. The analysis of 2,920 candidates affidavits showed that 683 candidates face criminal charges.
Mamata Banerjee has expressed confidence in the return of her party, saying people do not want a BJP government in the state. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the election as an opportunity to free the state from infiltrators and promised large-scale job creation if the BJP comes to power.
Tamil Nadu: Voting for All 234 Seats
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has a total of 234 seats, and a party or alliance needs at least 118 seats to form the government. In the 2021 elections, the DMK won 133 seats, AIADMK 66, Congress 18, PMK 5, BJP 4, VCK 4, CPM 2, and CPI 2 seats. Currently, the DMK and its allies hold 158 seats. The alliance includes parties such as Congress, CPM, CPI, and MDMK.
Around 18% of candidates in Tamil Nadu have declared criminal cases against themselves. Additionally, nearly 25% of candidates have assets worth more than Rs 1 crore. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), out of 3,992 candidates analyzed, 722 (18%) have criminal cases, including 404 (10%) facing serious charges.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) has promised in its election manifesto to increase the monthly financial assistance for women to Rs 2,000, raise old-age pensions from Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,000, and provide Rs 2,500 per month to persons with disabilities. It has also pledged to enhance insurance coverage under the state scheme to Rs 15 lakh and build 1 million houses for the poor.
In the agriculture sector, the alliance has promised free pump sets for 2 million farmers, higher procurement prices for paddy and sugarcane, a Rs 5 per litre increase in milk procurement prices, and financial support for fishermen. It has also assured interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for self-help groups.
Meanwhile, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance has promised Rs 2,000 per month for women, Rs 10,000 financial assistance per family to ease inflation, and Rs 2,000 monthly support for unemployed graduates. It has also pledged Rs 25,000 assistance for working women to purchase two-wheelers and an increase in pensions for senior citizens to Rs 2,000.
Additionally, the alliance has promised to expand subsidized government clinics and shut down liquor shops in phases. It has also committed to raising procurement prices for paddy and sugarcane and providing free pulses and edible oil through ration shops.