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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced the schedule for the 2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly elections, formally setting the stage for a contest across all 30 constituencies of the Union Territory. Voting will be held across 2.19 lakh polling stations in four states and one UT, with 25 lakh election officials on duty," said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Polling will be held on April 9, with results to be declared on May 4. The last date for filing nominations is March 23, scrutiny of nominations on March 24, and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is March 26.Elections will be held in Puducherry to elect 30 members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, whose current tenure is scheduled to end on that date.The Puducherry Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Union Territory, which comprises four geographically separate districts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahé and Yanam. Of the 30 elected seats, 5 are reserved for Scheduled Castes. In addition, 3 members are nominated by the Government of India, who enjoy the same powers as elected members of the assembly. A party or alliance requires at least 16 seats among the elected members to command a simple majority.Puducherry will hold elections for all 30 constituencies of what will become the 16th Puducherry Legislative Assembly.The ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC)–Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance will look to defend its position against the DMK–Congress opposition in the 30-seat assembly.After a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Karaikal, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy confirmed that his All India NR Congress will continue to be in alliance with the BJP for the 2026 elections. The opposition in the UT comprises the Congress, the DMK, and the CPI contesting together, while the ruling bloc consists of the AINRC, BJP and AIADMK.On the seat-sharing front, Congress and DMK have been in talks on dividing seats. The Congress has formed a seven-member negotiation committee to finalise talks with the DMK and other alliance partners. Congress has asserted that it will lead the alliance in Puducherry, in the same way that DMK leads the alliance in Tamil Nadu.As recently as March 14, DMK and Congress held their first formal seat-sharing talks at a neutral venue, aimed at resolving a prolonged disagreement over which party would act as the senior partner in the alliance.In the latter part of 2025, the Election Commission of India conducted a Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Puducherry the first such exercise in 24 years and the final rolls have since been published.The ECI visited Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from February 25 to 27 to review poll preparedness, conducting meetings with IGs, DIGs, District Election Officers, SPs, SSPs, and heads of enforcement agencies, as well as recognised national and state political parties. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated at the time that political parties had promised the Commission that the upcoming Puducherry elections would be "model elections" for the country.In the 2021 Puducherry Assembly elections, the National Democratic Alliance won 16 of the 30 seats to secure a majority. The AINRC won 10 seats and the BJP won 6 seats, while the UPA alliance won 8 seats DMK taking 6 and Congress 2. Independent candidates won the remaining 6 seats.Following the result, the Lieutenant Governor appointed three nominated members to the assembly, all belonging to the BJP, raising that party's count to nine in the 33-member assembly. Six independent members also pledged support to the government, increasing its working strength to 25. N. Rangasamy was sworn in as Chief Minister of Puducherry for the fourth time on May 7, 2021.In the 2016 Puducherry elections, Congress won 15 seats, followed by AINRC at 8, AIADMK at 4, and DMK at 2. Voter turnout was 83.6 per cent. In 2021, voter turnout was 84.8 per cent.