Assembly elections LIVE: Congress keeps singing to Pakistan’s tunes, compromising nation’s security, says PM Modi

The Congress on Monday (April 6, 2026) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the proposal to amend the women quota law for its early implementation as a poll issue and asserted that the people in the election-bound four States and one Union Territory will give him a “resounding reply and decisively reject the BJP”.

The Opposition party’s assertion came after Prime Minister Modi, during an election rally in Assam, said the 33% quota for women in Parliament would be implemented from the 2029 General Elections.

Hitting out at the PM, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “In Assam today during the election campaign, the Prime Minister urged unanimous support for the women’s reservation bill in the special session of Parliament. How much more bogus can he get?” Noting that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, was passed unanimously by Parliament in September 2023, Mr. Ramesh pointed out that the Congress had demanded its implementation from the 2024 election itself.

– PTI

Dindigul: While DMK candidate IP. Sentilkumar filing his nomination, former Minister and AIADMK candidate Dindigul C. Srinivasan entered with his supporters to the Returning Officer room in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, on Monday (April 6, 2026). Photo: G. Karthikeyan

Madurai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said there was a wave of change in Tamil Nadu in favour of NDA and the ensuing Assembly election will see the DMK, which is “seeped in corruption and opposed to Tamil Nadu’s age-old tradition”, defeated at the hustings.

He expressed confidence that this time, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP allies, the NDA will form the government in the State.

“People have seen the misrule of the DMK. Almost 75% of the DMK’s Cabinet has criminal charges, and they are in deep corruption. The State is going to the dogs. Women, senior citizens, and children are not safe,” Mr. Fadnavis told reporters in Madurai.

In the last four years, the number of child sex abuse cases doubled, the drug menace was increasing and people saw “a connivance between DMK and all these criminals,” he said, flaying the DMK. – PTI

Jorhat: The stakes are high, but the campaign is dignified in Assam’s Jorhat Assembly constituency where State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and veteran sitting BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami are engaged in a direct contest.

Accusations and allegations against each other are missing, and both Mr. Gogoi and Mr. Goswami have refrained from attacking each other while seeking votes from a predominantly politically conscious and socio-culturally elite electorate.

Mr. Gogoi, making his electoral debut in Assembly polls and the Congress projecting him as the Chief Minister’s face, asserts in his campaign that he is like Mahabharata’s ‘Arjun’ while Mr. Goswami is ‘Bhishma’ and he has the single-minded goal of removing the “corrupt” BJP government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. – PTI

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday (April 6, 2026) said that nearly 97% of the 900 promises made in the 2021 election manifesto have either been fulfilled or are in advanced stages of implementation, as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) presented its ‘10-year progress report’.

Addressing a press conference at Pinarayi in Kannur, Mr. Vijayan said that people have “the right to know how far election promises have been implemented.” – The Hindu Bureau

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination papers for the April 23 Baramati Assembly bypoll.

She filed the papers in the presence of her party colleagues Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde and Hasan Mushrif as well as Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, and State Minister and BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The three parties comprise the ruling Mahayuti.

Before filing her nomination papers, she made an emotional appeal to the people of Baramati to stand by her in the same way as they always supported her late husband Ajit Pawar.

The death of then Deputy CM and NCP stalwart Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28, 2026 necessitated the Baramati Assembly bypoll. Sunetra Pawar said she was committed to carrying forward his legacy of development. – PTI

DMDK general secretary and candidate for Vriddhachalam Assembly constituency Premallatha Vijayakant filed her nomination paper with Returning Officer Vishnupriya. 

Ms. Premallatha said this time DMDK will definitely win in Vriddhachalam, just like Captain (Vijayakant) won here for the first time. 

“Vriddhachalam is etched in our blood, breath, and hearts. This time, I will surely win and complete all the works Captain left behind for the development of the constituency,” she said. 

“The creation of a new district with Vriddhachalam as headquarters will be one of the top demands and we will take up the issue with the Chief Minister after the elections,” she added. – The Hindu Bureau

Bhabanipur-Sorbhog: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that while his government has carried out Operation Sindoor on terror camps in Pakistan, the Congress keeps on “singing to the tune of” the neighbouring country.

On the development front, he alleged that the Congress had always taken a myopic view on the matter, while the BJP works towards ensuring long-term development of the nation.

“The party always took short-term measures so that they could indulge in corruption. But the BJP looks far ahead while taking decisions for all-around development of all sections of society,” Mr. Modi said.

Addressing an election rally in Barpeta district, the Prime Minister alleged that during the 2016 surgical strikes or the 2025 ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Congress has always sung to Pakistan’s tune, giving importance to their agenda.

“This Pakistan connection always weighs heavily on the country (’hamesha desh par bhari parta hain’), and we can never allow that,” he said.

Kolkata: Alleged factional tensions within the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal’s Birbhum district have set the stage for keen contests in Bolpur and Rampurhat Assembly constituencies, where leadership rivalries, allegations of smuggling and local development issues dominate the campaign narrative.

At the centre of Birbhum politics is Anubrata Mondal, who continues to wield influence despite not contesting the elections.

Long regarded as the party’s organisational strongman in the district, Mr. Mondal, more popular as ‘Kesto’, remains relevant even after spending over a year in Tihar Jail over an alleged cattle smuggling case, drawing strength from a deep grassroots network and his proximity to party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Following his release in September 2024, Mr. Mondal was removed as district president but retained in a nine-member core committee along with Faizul Haque, known as Kajal Sheikh, to oversee the party’s affairs in the district. Ms. Banerjee later appointed him as the committee’s convenor, a move seen as balancing rival factions while retaining organisational control.

The infighting intersects with allegations of illegal stone, sand, coal, and cattle smuggling, which opposition parties link to local patronage networks. – PTI

Puducherry: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the ruling AINRC-BJP government over alleged counterfeit drug manufacturing and asserted that it was not just corruption but a murderous act as spurious drugs were distributed across the country.

Addressing a rally in Puducherry for the April 9 Assembly polls, Mr. Gandhi said the Congress party was committed to grant of Statehood and assured that civic polls would be held in Puducherry within six months of it assuming power.

“Today Puducherry is leading in fake medicines; massive fake drug manufacturing takes place here and no action is taken by the UT government,” he alleged. Further, he said the fake drugs manufacturing was not just about corruption, but it was “murder” as spurious drugs were spread across the country.

He alleged that everybody was aware that “30% commission” was being taken on all contracts in the Union Territory. The vibrant industrial, textile sector are in terminal decline and 100s of factories were closed. – PTI

Citing alleged restrictions imposed by the police, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has cancelled Monday’s poll campaigns by its founder and actor C. Joseph Vijay in the Villivakkam and T. Nagar Assembly constituencies in Chennai.

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Puducherry: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Puducherry government is “imposed from Delhi” and does not represent the will of its people. He also accused the BJP of failing to grant full Statehood and fostering corruption in the Union Territory.

Addressing an election rally in Lawspet, the Congress leader said, “It is pretty clear that the government in Puducherry isn’t the expression of the people of Puducherry, but it’s imposed from Delhi. There has always been a question of full Statehood BJP promised it, but didn’t fulfil. The BJP wants Puducherry to belong to Mr. Adani. The strategic Karaikal has already been sold to him.” – ANI

Citing alleged restrictions imposed by the police, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has cancelled Monday’s (April 6, 2026) poll campaigns schedule by its founder and actor C. Joseph Vijay in the Villivakkam and T. Nagar Assembly constituencies in Chennai.

TVK general secretary (election campaign management) and Villivakkam candidate Aadhav Arjuna claimed to journalists that permission was granted by the Returning Officer (RO) to campaign in T. Nagar (where TVK general secretary Bussy Anand is contesting) between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. but it was immediately changed to just one hour (2 p.m. to 3 p.m.) due to “pressure exerted by the city police.” – The Hindu Bureau

Thanjavur: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday (April 6, 2026) hit out at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for criticising Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on the language row and said the State will never accept the three-language formula, but will follow the dual language policy of Tamil and English.

Claiming that the Centre was forcing Tamil Nadu to implement the National Education Policy, paving the way for thrusting Hindi upon the State, he said accepting the NEP would mean allowing the Centre to thrust Hindi upon Tamil Nadu.

“We will never accept it. We will always follow the two language policy of Tamil and English,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said while campaigning for the DMK candidate Durai Chandrasekaran in Thiruvaiyaru in the district. – PTI

Pune: As Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar is slated to file her nomination for the Baramati bypoll, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar urged other aspirants not to file their papers and appealed for the bypoll to be held unopposed.

The April 23 bypoll for the Baramati Assembly seat was necessitated following the death of then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28.

According to party sources, Sunetra Pawar will file her nomination at around 12.30 p.m. in Baramati in the presence of senior NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Hasan Mushrif, Dattatray Bharne and BJP Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

Earlier in the day, she visited the Hanuman temple in Kanheri and paid respects at Ajit Pawar’s cremation site. Her sons, Jay and Parth Pawar, and Tatkare accompanied her. 

Rohit Pawar, in a post on X, reiterated his appeal for an unopposed election. – PTI

The Congress has no moral authority to talk about Statehood after ignoring the demand while being in power at Centre and Puducherry for decades, senior BJP leader and Home Minister A. Namassivayam said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference at BJP’s media centre, Mr. Namassivayam, who is contesting from Mannadipet for the second time, said there were several occasions in the past when Congress party ruled Puducherry and Centre at the same time. The demand for Statehood was very much existent at those times also, he added.

“They were in power in the U.T. and Delhi for most of the time after the country attained Independence. The Congress party could have given Statehood during the period when the party was in power at Puducherry and Centre at the same time,” he said.

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Three adjoining Assembly seats in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district have turned into the most volatile theatre of the 2026 poll battle, with the proposed Babri Masjid-style mosque at Rejinagar reshaping loyalties, hardening religious identities and threatening to fracture the minority vote, the TMC’s bedrock.

Bharatpur, Rejinagar and Beldanga form a contiguous arc around the site where suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, now the founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), laid the foundation stone on December 6 last year for a mosque modelled on the demolished structure in Ayodhya.

What began as a local act of defiance after Kabir’s expulsion from the TMC has, within months, turned into the emotional pivot of the election in this part of Murshidabad.

-PTI

While the BJP has pledged to work towards the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), protect land and heritage, and further its development agenda, the Congress has promised Scheduled Tribe status for six communities, the setting up of an Anti Corruption Commission to investigate alleged scams under the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, the release of a white paper on Assam finances, and an Urban Flood Mitigation Plan.

Releasing the 31 point “Sankalp Patra” at the BJP State headquarters in Guwahati, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke of what she described as a decade of transformation in Assam, which she said had contributed to economic growth in the State and the wider northeast.

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Assam Election 2026: What BJP and Congress promise in their manifestos

Explore the promises made by BJP and Congress in their manifestos for the Assam Legislative Assembly elections 2026.

On either side of the railway gates at Station Kadavu, motorists wait impatiently for the train to pass. Soon, a rumble is heard and the north-bound Netravati Express whizzes past. As the last coach vanishes and the gates finally open, there is a scramble to be the first to get across. For the local people, this is a scene that repeats itself over and over as if in a time-loop. A bridge over the line would help, but right now it remains a mere hope.

Some minutes later, V. Muraleedharan, a former Union Minister who is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the Kazhakuttam Assembly constituency for the April 9 elections, alights from a car and is immediately surrounded by party workers. Mr. Muraleedharan enters a nearby shop and asks the man who runs it, “Do you live here or across the tracks?” Given the density of rail traffic here, the question appears to be a pertinent one. Mr. Muraleedharan moves on, promising a solution if he gets elected.

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Nemom is a sort of gateway to the Thiruvananthapuram city for those entering Kerala’s capital from the Kanniyakumari side. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the constituency became a gateway to the Kerala Assembly when O. Rajagopal won from here in 2016. But, five years later, the gateway would be closed for the party with V. Sivankutty of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] reclaiming the constituency which he had won comfortably in 2011.

This year, Mr. Sivankutty is again back in the fray, in a constituency which has attracted attention from across the country due to the massive push that the BJP has been making, with its State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar leading the charge. K.S. Sabarinadhan, former Congress MLA from Aruvikkara and now a councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, is putting up a stiff fight to reclaim a constituency which the Congress has not won after the delimitation of 2008.

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Kerala Assembly polls 2026: All major fronts hopeful of a win in Nemom

The 2026 Kerala Assembly polls in Nemom feature a competitive three-way battle among major political fronts for victory.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has submitted its list of star campaigners for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 (Schedule-1) to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The list was shared with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as part of the party’s preparations for the high-stakes electoral battle in the State.

The list includes top national and state leaders of the BJP who are expected to campaign extensively across West Bengal in the run-up to the elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J.P. Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Yogi Adityanath, among others, are included in the list.

-ANI

The BJP on Sunday (April 5, 2026) accused the Congress of using “fabricated” documents and “concocted stories” to level “baseless” allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife and said the main opposition party has stooped to such “reprehensible and despicable” acts sensing its defeat in the State Assembly polls.

This came after the Congress alleged that the Assam Chief Minister’s wife possesses passports of three countries and that he concealed information about her properties.

Targeting Mr. Sarma as the campaign peaks for the April 9 election in Assam, Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera showed, at a press conference, purported documents to support the allegations and demanded that the Election Commission cancel his nomination for allegedly concealing information in his poll affidavit.

-PTI

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge has labelled the proposed amendment of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) as an “attack against minorities.” Addressing a United Democratic Front (UDF) election campaign at Elappara in Idukki on Sunday, Mr. Kharge alleged that the amendment is not merely a legal change but a targeted strike.

“The FCRA amendment is not just about the public; it targets the Christian community. Just as the Waqf Bill affects the Muslim community, the FCRA amendment will impact the Christian community at the same level,” said the Congress president.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address three election rallies in Assam on Monday (April 6, 2026), canvassing for BJP candidates for the April 9 state elections.

The first rally is at Bhabanipur-Sorbhog in Lower Assam’s Barpeta district, where Mr. Modi will canvass for Minister Ranjeet Kumar Das.

The Prime Minister will then address a rally at Hojai in central Assam for BJP candidate Shiladitya Dev. The Prime Minister’s final rally is at Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh for State minister Prasanta Phukan.

This would be the second time this election season that the Prime Minister would be in Assam for poll campaigning. He had campaigned in the state on April 1, addressing rallies at Gogamukh and Behali, and interacting with women tea garden workers in Dibrugarh.

-PTI

Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader and sitting MLA of Vadakara in Kozhikode K.K. Rema is seeking re-election from the constituency as a United Democratic Front (UDF)-backed candidate. Talking to The Hindu, she asserts that the voters will reject the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for its “anti-people” policies.

Read the full interview here

Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: Broad Left platform involving former CPI(M) leaders in the works, says K.K. Rema

K.K. Rema discusses her re-election campaign against the LDF, focusing on anti-incumbency and forming a broad Left alliance.

The central Kerala region consisting of Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam and Alappuzha districts is witnessing intense electoral battles this time for political dominance.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) had a clear upper hand in the region during the 2021 Assembly polls as it bagged 25 of the 37 Assembly seats in the region leaving the United Democratic Front (UDF) with just 12.

This time around, the electoral politics in the region is witnessing some personality-driven contests, besides the keenly fought political battles. The shifting of political loyalty of some candidates and the fielding of some prominent individuals in some key constituencies have made the contests worth watching.

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Poonamallee constituency, the western gateway to the city, has a mixed population comprising urban, semi-urban, and rural residents, with a total electorate of 3.32 lakh.

The southern part of the constituency houses significant industrial activity, while agricultural villages extend towards the north. The region is grappling with rapid urbanisation, particularly on the outskirts of Poonamallee town and Thirumazhisai.

Although several infrastructure projects, such as Metro Rail, flyovers, and the Outer Ring Road, have been developed over the past five years, the constituency continues to face gaps in basic infrastructure. These include the need for a functional underground sewer system, motorable interior roads and a reliable drinking water supply.

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T.N. Assembly election 2026: Despite a slew of infrastructure projects, Poonamallee constituency residents point to gaps in civic amenities

Residents of Poonamallee demand improved civic amenities despite recent infrastructure projects, highlighting ongoing issues with water supply and roads.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi, on Sunday (April 5, 2026), asserted confidence in the party’s victory in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, assuring further developmental policies by the DMK government.

Addressing a gathering, she outlined future promises and said the DMK would provide laptops to 3.5 million youth to construct 1 million houses, increase old-age pension to ₹2,000, assist persons with disabilities to ₹2,500 and raise procurement prices for paddy and milk.

She also announced several development projects for the Sulur constituency, including a textile park, worker hostels, a new government hospital at Sencherimalai cold storage facilities, an international-standard indoor stadium and a new ring road.

-ANI

Asserting that the BJP is opposed to infiltrators and is not against Muslims, senior party leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday (April 5, 2026) exuded confidence in the party’s electoral prospects in Assam and West Bengal.

Assembly polls in Assam are scheduled for April 9, while West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled on May 4.

“I strongly believe that we will win in both Assam and West Bengal. It is the BJP’s policy to take everyone together, irrespective of one’s religion. We are opposed to infiltrators but are not against Muslims,” Mr. Gadkari said in an interview with PTI.

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The Election Commission has suspended the officer-in-charge (OC) of Kasba police station in Kolkata for allegedly failing to include the name of a history sheeter in the list of offenders ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, an EC official said on Sunday (April 5, 2026) evening.

The suspension of OC Biswajit Debnath was preceded by a showcause served on the OC on why the name of history sheeter Sona Pappu alias Biswajit Poddar, active in his area, did not figure in the list of criminals in the jurisdiction of Kasba, despite multiple cases pending against him.

Sona Pappu’s name had surfaced most recently again in connection with the throwing of bombs by a gang during a clash between two groups at the Gol Park area, and he remains absconding.

The Enforcement Directorate recently conducted searches at the alleged gangster’s residence and reportedly recovered a huge amount of cash, along with a luxury vehicle and property documents.

-PTI

A debate is under way in police circles on the tenure of Sandeep Rai Rathore, appointed Tamil Nadu’s Director-General of Police and Head of Police Force on the directions of the Election Commission of India, in place of G. Venkatraman, the in-charge DGP/HoPF.

The posting comes with a promotion, as Mr. Rathore will be entitled to the Apex Scale (Level-17 of the pay matrix), equivalent to that of Chief Secretary. However, the EC order did not specify a tenure for him. The question is whether Mr. Rathore would be entitled to a minimum two-year tenure. The Supreme Court, in the landmark Prakash Singh case, had ruled that a State DGP/HoPF should have a minimum two-year tenure, irrespective of the date of superannuation. However, that ruling applies to appointments made through the UPSC-led process.

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A debate on the tenure of Election Commission-appointed police chief

Debate arises over Sandeep Rai Rathore’s tenure as Tamil Nadu’s police chief amid Election Commission’s appointment and Supreme Court guidelines.

Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday (April 5, 2026) evening asked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to answer three questions on whether his family has properties and companies abroad.

The questions were asked in a press conference here, hours after Mr. Sarma said that he and his wife would file a defamation case against Mr. Khera within 48 hours for making “false allegations” that she has multiple passports and holds properties in Dubai, which were not mentioned in his poll affidavit.

Mr. Khera had made those accusations in a presser in New Delhi earlier on Sunday (April 5), just four days before the state goes to polls on April 9.

The Congress leaders posed three questions to the Assam CM: whether his wife or family owns property in Dubai, has companies in Wyoming in the USA, or has placed their assets in shell companies.

-PTI

The last date for filing nominations for all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu for the April 23 Assembly election, is scheduled to end on Monday (April 6, 2026).

As of 3 p.m. on Sunday (April 5, 2026), details of a total of 3,430 nominations (many candidates have filed multiple nominations) have been uploaded by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The nominations filed will be taken up for scrutiny on April 7 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations, if any, is on April 9. Polling in all 234 Assembly constituencies is scheduled between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on April 23. 

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The BJP on Sunday (April 5, 2026) alleged that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge insulted the people of Gujarat and other states in North India by calling them “illiterate” and accused the opposition party of indulging in divide-and-rule politics ahead of the Assembly polls.

Addressing a rally in Idukki district ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, Mr. Kharge said people of the state are “educated and clever” and cannot be misled, unlike those in Gujarat and some other places.

“Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever, they are educated. Modi ji, Vijay (Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan), you both can fool those who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you can’t fool Kerala people,” he said.

-PTI

The home voting facility for voters aged 85 years and above and those in the persons with disabilities (PwD) category has been extended until Monday, election officials said on Sunday. As of Sunday evening, 96% of voters in the 85-plus category and 97.4% of PwD voters who had opted for the home voting option have exercised their franchise. In Kerala, 1,39,871 of the 1,45,598 voters in the 85-plus category and 60,568 of the 62,159 voters in the PwD category have exercised this option to vote, according to data released by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala).

Since March 30, the CEO’s office has deployed 2,500 polling teams for the home voting arrangement. Meanwhile, 73.13% of voters in 14 essential services including police, fire and rescue service, media and health services also have cast their votes so far. Of the 29,812 police officers who applied for postal ballots, 22,464 have cast their votes. The CEO’s office said extensive arrangements have been made for voter facilitation centres and postal voting centres across the State.

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Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Good response for home voting option, says Kerala CEO’s office

Kerala’s home voting option sees high turnout, with 96% of seniors and 97.4% of PwD voters participating in polls.

The TMC on Sunday (April 5, 2026) accused the BJP of being involved in the unrest in West Bengal’s Malda district, where several judicial officers engaged in scrutiny of under-adjudication voters were gheraoed recently, and charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with peddling falsehood on women’s safety issues.

The ruling party’s comments came after the PM made the Malda gherao of judicial officers the centrepiece of the BJP’s campaign on alleged lawlessness in the state, claiming that it reflected the TMC’s “maha jungle raj”.

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Disagreeing with suggestions that the Tamil Nadu Assembly election would turn out to be a “close contest”, DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Sunday (April 5, 2026) that a multi-cornered contest would, in fact, benefit the DMK.

Taking a short break from his intense campaign schedule in Virudhunagar district, Mr. Stalin, in an exclusive interview to The Hindu, made it clear that the contest was essentially between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Secular Progressive Alliance and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led National Democratic Alliance.

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I do not see the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu as a close contest, says CM Stalin

CM Stalin asserts the Tamil Nadu Assembly election won’t be close, highlighting DMK’s achievements and strong alliance against AIADMK.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 5, 2026) sought to woo women voters in West Bengal, stating that his party is committed to “real empowerment of women” through 33% reservation.

Addressing a public meeting in Cooch Behar, Mr. Modi said it is necessary to increase the role of women in decision-making for the country. “Therefore, the government has scheduled a special session of Parliament on April 16, 17, and 18. This right of our mothers and sisters has been pending for 40 years. Our government has enacted a law to provide 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies,” he said.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (April 5, 2026) urged people to cast their votes to “take revenge” for the deletion of people’s names from the electoral rolls.

The Trinamool Congress chief urged people whose names have been deleted from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to move appeals before the tribunal.

In an apparent reference to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Ms. Banerjee alleged that he was behind the deletion of voters’ names in West Bengal during the SIR exercise. “If you have the guts, fight directly,” she said.

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Mamata urges people to cast vote to ‘take revenge’ for deletion of names from electoral rolls

Mamata Banerjee urges voters to reclaim deleted names from rolls, accusing BJP of undermining her efforts for Muslim interests.