Election Commission Announces Poll Schedule for Five States Including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu

February 24, 2026 | 20 articles from The Times of India

What's Happening

The Election Commission announced the assembly poll schedule for Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, with elections to be held between April 9 and April 29. This follows a period of legal disputes and political protests over voter list revisions in West Bengal.

How We Got Here

The political landscape for the upcoming assembly elections began taking shape in April 2025 when the AIADMK and Bharatiya Janata Party reunited after a split in September 2023, though a seat-sharing formula for the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu remained unresolved. As election preparations intensified, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in February 2026 stated that she was all for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and was willing to join hands with other opposition parties, highlighting early friction over election administration. These developments underscored the charged atmosphere in both states as voter list revisions and alliance formations progressed. Legal interventions escalated in late February. On February 20, the Supreme Court set a deadline for the final voter list, allowing the Election Commission to publish verified names on February 28 and permitting supplementary lists to be deemed part of the final roll. The Calcutta High Court Chief Justice assessed on February 22 that despite assigning 294 serving and retired judges, scrutinizing about 50 lakh voter inclusion claims would take 80 days. In a significant move on February 24, the Supreme Court permitted the Calcutta High Court to deploy additional judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha to expedite scrutiny, using its powers under Article 142 due to what it cited as an extraordinary situation from trust deficit and non-cooperation between the Election Commission and Bengal government. The court also clarified that Aadhaar cards would be used only for identification during voter verification and not as citizenship proof, and specified that 11 Election Commission-notified documents along with Class X admit cards accompanied by marksheets or pass certificates were valid for voter inclusion claims. The final electoral roll for West Bengal was published online on February 28, retaining all 7.08 crore voters from the draft list but with approximately 66 lakh entries carrying remarks: nearly 6 lakh marked as 'deleted' and over 60 lakh categorized as 'under adjudication'. This list determined voter eligibility for the state assembly elections. On the same day, TMC MLA Paresh Ram Das accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to influence the election by conducting the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal and removing legal Indian voters from the list, reflecting the political tensions surrounding the voter list process. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK and Congress confirmed their alliance on March 4 for the upcoming elections, with the Congress set to contest 28 seats and secure a Rajya Sabha berth. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, BJP's Amit Malviya criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 6, stating that she should focus on addressing high unemployment in the state instead of sitting on protests. He cited state government sources to assert that approximately 85 lakh unemployed people in the 18–40 age group put unemployment at 13%. Hours later, Mamata Banerjee began a sit-in protest in central Kolkata, accusing the BJP and Election Commission of hatching a conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengali voters through voter roll deletions and vowing to present voters declared dead by the Election Commission at the protest site. Political coordination continued on March 7 with the Trinamool Congress agreeing to support a removal notice against Speaker Om Birla in the Lok Sabha after an understanding within the INDIA bloc to jointly sponsor a notice against the Chief Election Commissioner. A full bench of the Election Commission was scheduled to arrive in Kolkata on March 8 to review poll preparedness until March 10, with election dates likely announced after their return. On March 9, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing petitioners, argued that there was no appeal provision against the deletion of names from voter lists, leaving many without remedy. On March 10, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy announced that the party would bring an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar under Article 324 of the Constitution, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision and claiming that 59 lakh voters were on the Adjudication list, with backing from the Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party, and independent MP Pappu Yadav. Amid these ongoing legal disputes and political accusations over voter list revisions, the Election Commission announced on March 15 the assembly poll schedule for Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, with elections to be held between April 9 and April 29. The commission also provided voter statistics for Tamil Nadu, stating there are 5.67 crore eligible voters including 2.77 crore males, 2.89 crore females, and 12.51 lakh first-time voters. The results for all five legislative assemblies will be declared on May 4, setting the stage for the final phase of the electoral process.

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