- Model Code comes into force as Election Commission declares dates for five Assemblies
New Delhi, 15-03-2026: The Election Commission on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry, setting the stage for polling across 824 seats in one of the year’s most significant electoral exercises. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said voting in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry would be held on April 9, while Tamil Nadu would vote on April 23 and West Bengal would go to the polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Counting of votes for all five Assemblies will take place on May 4. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force immediately with the announcement of the schedule.
Announcing the dates at a press conference in New Delhi, the Chief Election Commissioner stressed that the polls must be conducted in a peaceful, free and inducement-free manner, warning that the Commission would act firmly against any attempt to influence voters through violence, money power or other unlawful means. The Election Commission has already been preparing for the exercise, including briefing a large number of central observers for deployment in the poll-bound states and Union Territory.
Under the announced programme, all 126 Assembly seats in Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9. Kerala, which has 140 Assembly constituencies, and Puducherry, with 33 seats including three nominated members, will also vote the same day. Tamil Nadu’s 234 Assembly seats will go to the polls on April 23. West Bengal, the largest among the poll-bound states in terms of Assembly strength, will hold elections for its 294 seats in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Counting for all these contests has been scheduled together for May 4.
The elections will be closely watched in all five regions for their political significance. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK under Chief Minister M K Stalin will seek another mandate. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress will face another major electoral test in a state where politics remains intensely competitive. In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will seek to retain power, while in Assam the BJP under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will be aiming to consolidate its position. In Puducherry, Chief Minister N Rangasamy’s leadership will also be under scrutiny as the Union Territory heads into the polls. These details reflect the current state governments and assembly strengths cited in reports on the announced schedule.
With the dates now officially declared, political parties are expected to intensify campaigning, candidate selection and alliance-building in the days ahead. The Election Commission’s emphasis on a clean and peaceful process suggests that law and order, expenditure monitoring and adherence to the Model Code will remain central to the conduct of the elections. The coming weeks are therefore likely to witness both heightened political activity and closer administrative vigilance across the poll-bound states and Union Territory.