Kicking off the Assembly election season, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry have gone to the polls on Thursday (April 9, 2026) in a single phase. Voting began at 7 a.m. and goes on until to 5 p.m. The results will be declared on May 4.
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The high-stakes elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly commence with the BJP eyeing a third straight term in power. The Kerala polls across 140 Assembly constituencies feature contests between three fronts: the CPI(M)-led LDF, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA
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Voting is taking place for 30 seats in Puducherry. The Union Territory is currently governed by a coalition led by the All India N. R. Congress (AINRC), with Chief Minister N. Rangasamy at the helm and BJP backing.
Editorial | Two plus one: On the April 9 Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry
Further, the bypolls to several Assembly constituencies across Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Tripura are also being held on Thursday (April 9, 2026). Key contests include Karnataka’s Davangere South and Bagalkot constituencies, and the Baramati seat which fell vacant after elected MLA and the deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash. The Bomay High Court declared the poll body’s notification for Ponda by-election in Goa as invalid, cancelling the April 9 poll.
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