Voting for assembly elections began on Thursday, 9th April at 7 am across Assam, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, with voters lining up early at polling booths. The Election Commission has made extensive arrangements to ensure voting remains smooth, safe, and fair.
These elections are being conducted in a single phase for all three states. Voting will take place for 126 seats in Assam, 140 in Kerala, and 30 in Puducherry. Counting of votes will take place on 4th May.
Kerala: LDF vs UDF Battle
In Kerala, almost 2.6 crore voters will be voting for 883 candidates contesting on 140 seats. Female voters are more than male voters, while 277 voters belong to the third gender category. As many as 4.24 lakh voters belong to the 18-19 age group, whereas over 2 lakh voters are aged 85 years and above.
For conducting the elections, a total of over 30,000 polling stations are being operated, along with more than 1.46 lakh trained polling personnel. Over 1,200 police teams are deployed.
The two major alliances battling each other in this election are the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF). Along with this, the NDA led by the BJP is also making efforts to establish itself. The LDF, which currently holds 99 seats, is aiming for a rare third consecutive term after its 2021 election victory.
Assam: NDA faces fragile alliance challenge
In Assam, 2.5 crore registered voters are voting in 126 constituencies, with 722 contesting candidates. There is an equal distribution of both genders among the electorate, along with 318 transgender voters and over 63,000 service voters.
There are more than 6.4 lakh voters aged between 18 and 19 years, while around 2.5 lakh voters are above 80 years old. Around 2 lakh voters are persons with disabilities.
A total of 31,490 polling stations are being monitored through webcasting. Election officials have deployed over 1.5 lakh personnel, along with thousands of ballot units, control units, and VVPAT machines.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is campaigning for its third consecutive term in office, while the opposition Congress has made a six-party alliance to challenge the ruling coalition. However, AIUDF is not part of the opposition alliance.
Puducherry: Multi-cornered contest
In Puducherry, more than 10 lakh voters are participating in the voting process to elect a 30-member assembly. Out of this number, more than 5.3 lakh voters are female, and almost 4.7 lakh are male, and there are 157 transgender voters in total.
Approximately 24,000 are voters between the ages of 18 and 19, while more than 6,000 are senior citizens, aged 85 or older. Voting has started across 1,099 booths, with 209 marked as sensitive.
Security has been strengthened with central forces and local police, while drones and flying squads are monitoring violations. Campaigning has already been stopped under the Model Code of Conduct, with strict checks on inducements and liquor sales.
This election campaign is contested by the ruling NDA (NR Congress and BJP), the Congress-DMK alliance, and actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, making it a three-way fight.
Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on 23 April, while the West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on 23rd and 29th April. Counting for all the elections will take place on 4th May.
