Assembly Elections: Voting underway in Assam, Kerala & Puducherry

Voting for State Assembly Elections in Assam, Keralam and Puducherry underway. Thursday’s polling covers all 126 seats in Assam, all 140 in Keralam and all 30 in Puducherry. Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said. In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016. Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning. An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
The NDA is hoping for a second straight term in Puducherry, where 30 seats are up for election today. The pitch, though, has been queered by the entry of the fledgling TVK, which has set up multi-cornered contests in many seats. The constituents of the ruling NDA in Puducherry are the AINRC (All India NR Congress), BJP, the AIADMK, and the LJK (Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi). The Opposition INDIA bloc includes the Congress, the DMK and the VCK.
As voting commenced in Kerala, PM Modi urged voters in Kerala to ensure ‘massive participation’. “Record participation will infuse energy into Kerala's democratic ethos. I particularly request the youth and women of the state to come forward and register their votes,” he wrote on X.
Two more states - West Bengal and Tamil Nadu - vote later this month, with counting for all five set for 4 May.