Election Commission Announces Poll Schedule for Five Assemblies; Voting from April 9, Counting on May 4
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry. Voting will begin on April 9, with West Bengal going to polls in two phases. The elections will cover 17.4 crore voters across 824 constituencies, and counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
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The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the much-awaited schedule for Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory - Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry. Voting will begin on April 9 and conclude by April 29, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.
Polling in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be conducted in a single phase on April 9. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. West Bengal will have a two-phase election with voting scheduled for April 23 and April 29.
The announcement was made at a press conference by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
According to the Commission, the elections will involve about 17.4 crore voters across 824 constituencies and 2.18 lakh polling stations. The polls are being held as the terms of the legislative assemblies are set to expire between May and June 2026. The current assembly terms end on May 7 in West Bengal, May 10 in Tamil Nadu, May 20 in Assam, May 23 in Kerala, and June 15 in Puducherry.
Notably, West Bengal will witness polling in only two phases, a significant reduction from the eight phases held during the 2021 elections.
The announcement comes amid a politically charged atmosphere. A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Kolkata and launched the campaign, accusing the ruling All India Trinamool Congress government of attempting to shield “infiltrators” during the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Meanwhile, the Opposition, led by the Trinamool Congress, has moved a motion in Parliament seeking the impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged bias during the revision exercise.
The Special Intensive Revision, which began in June 2025, has been conducted in 11 states and three Union Territories, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The exercise involved preparing electoral rolls afresh, requiring registered voters to submit enumeration forms and, in some cases, additional documents to verify eligibility.
According to the Commission, the revision process has resulted in a reduction of about 18.98 crore voters across several states and Union Territories, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The exercise is currently underway in Uttar Pradesh, where the final electoral roll is expected to be published on April 10.
The Election Commission said the revision was necessary due to rapid urbanisation, migration and the possibility of voters being registered at multiple locations. However, Opposition parties have criticised the move, alleging that it amounts to a citizenship verification exercise through indirect means. Several petitions challenging the Commission’s powers in this regard are currently pending before the Supreme Court of India.
