April polls likely in five States
Elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will likely be held on various dates in April 2026. Sources said the Election Commission of India (ECI) would announce the dates together “sometime in the middle of March”. While the five-year term of the Puducherry Assembly ends on June 15, the terms of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal assemblies end on May 20, 23, 10 and seven respectively.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday a full bench of the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Vivek Joshi , along with Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel, held meetings with political parties and regarding preparations for the upcoming polls in the State.
Following the interaction with the political parties, the ECI held a detailed review with the IGs, DIGs, DEOs and SSPs on every aspect of election planning, EVM management, logistics, training of election staff, seizures, law and order, voter awareness and outreach activities.
Among the national parties, Aam Aadmi Party, BJP, CPI(M) and Congress attended the meeting, while among the state parties, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) held separate meetings with the Commission.
Political parties urged the polls be conducted in a single phase or a two phases. They also asked the ECI to schedule the polls keeping in mind the Bihu festival, an official release said.
The political parties, in general, appreciated the conduct of the Special Revision of the electoral rolls in Assam. The parties also gave suggestions for ensuring the peaceful conduct of elections in the state, the release added.
Last time, assembly polls in West Bengal were held in eight phases — by far the maximum. In Assam, elections were held in two phases, and in a single phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
Of the poll-bound States, Puducherry was the first one to publish its final electoral roll on February 14. Tamil Nadu will publish its post-SIR final poll roll on Tuesday, while Kerala will do so on February 21. West Bengal’s final voters’ list will be published on February 28. In Assam, where a ‘special revision’ of electoral rolls took place in place of SIR, the final list was published on February 10.
