Battle for Bhabanipur: Mamata begins campaign with workers’ meet

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee waves to the gathering during the TMC workers meeting ahead of the State Assembly elections, in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: PTI West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (March 21, 2026) began her campaign for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency with a workers’ meeting. The meeting … Read more

SIR fallout obliterated localised anti-incumbency in West Bengal, no discontent against Mamata: Sagarika Ghose

TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said anti-incumbency in West Bengal, which was localised, has largely been obscured by the fallout of the SIR exercise, giving the party a distinct edge over the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections. The journalist-turned-politician, who has been named one of the TMC’s star campaigners for the polls, asserted … Read more

Karnataka bypolls: Congress keeps it within family; nominates Umesh Meti and Samarth Mallikarjun

Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjun, son of Horticulture Minister S.S. Mallikarjun, filed two sets of nomination papers to the byelection to Davangere South Assembly Constituency in Davangere on March 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The Congress high command has finalised the names of its nominees for the upcoming bypolls in Karnataka. Umesh Meti, the younger … Read more

Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2026: a game of four

With the filing of nominations set to begin in about 10 days, the political theatre in Tamil Nadu is all set to have yet another show of lively, even acrimonious performances from different actors. This time the show may be, in certain respects, different from the previous ones, in view of reports of voters among … Read more

Himanta, Assam BJP chief Dilip Saikia reach out to leaders threatening to contest as Independents

Several sitting MLAs and aspirants, who have been deprived of BJP tickets for the April 9 Assam Assembly polls, have threatened to contest as Independents, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and State party chief Dilip Saikia reaching out to them to calm their ire, sources said. The recent induction of Congress leaders Pradyut Bordoloi … Read more

EC forms 19 appellate tribunals in West Bengal for appeals on electoral rolls

People, whose names have reportedly been left out in the post-SIR electoral rolls, gather to apply for inclusion of their names, in Balurghat, West Bengal. | Photo Credit: PTI The Election Commission of India (EC) formed 19 Appellate Tribunals for West Bengal to hear disputed case appeals rejected by the judicial officers who are disposing of the 60 lakh under-adjudication … Read more

Kerala polls: 4 LDF Ministers declare assets of ₹2 crore each

LDF candidate for Nemom Assembly constituency, V. Sivankutty filed his nomination at Vikas Bhavan for the upcoming State Assembly elections, in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Several LDF ministers, who are contesting in the upcoming April 9 Assembly polls in Kerala, on Saturday (March 21, 2026) declared assets of close to ₹2 … Read more

Don’t remove any genuine voter from electoral rolls, parliamentary committee tells EC

The committee’s recommendations come even as political parties in many States such as West Bengal have raised questions about the entire process and made allegations that the names of many genuine voters were deleted. File | Photo Credit: PTI A Parliamentary Standing Committee has asked the Election Commission to ensure that no genuine elector is … Read more

T.N. Assembly election: For second time, Pottalurani residents to boycott polls over fish waste processing units

A sign installed in Pottalurani village demanding the closure of the fish waste processing units. | Photo Credit: N. Rajesh For the second consecutive time, the residents of Pottalurani village, which falls under Ottapidaram Assembly constituency in Thoothukudi district, have announced that they would boycott the election, as their long-pending demand for the closure of … Read more

Mamata makes 10 commitments to woo West Bengal voters

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee releases the party’s poll manifesto in Kolkata on March 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI The Trinamool Congress has promised to bring medical care to the doorsteps of voters in West Bengal, as part of 10 commitments highlighted in its poll manifesto released by party … Read more

Ramadoss, Sasikala join hands, to field candidates in 234 seats

S. Ramadoss, Founder and President of PMK Kumar SS / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Kumar S.S. PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Friday (March 20, 2026) announced an alliance with V. K. Sasikala’s All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AIPTMMK) and declared the two parties would jointly contest in the April 23 Tamil Nadu … Read more

Kerala polls: Amid reports of rift in Congress, V.D. Satheesan says seat-sharing done without discord

V.D. Satheesan | Photo Credit: The Hindu Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Friday (March 20, 2026) said the United Democratic Front (UDF) has completed announcing all 140 candidates at the “fastest pace in its history”, asserting that the coalition would return to power in Kerala with over 100 seats despite “the sustained … Read more

Assam CM, regional party chiefs file nominations

BJP supporters greet Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as he arrives in Guwahati on Friday, March 20, 2026, to file his nomination for the Jalukbari constituency. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the presidents of two non-NDA regional parties were among the top candidates who filed their … Read more

Post Congress-Raijor Dal alliance, BJP eyes Sibsagar seat

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma talking to media after filing his nomination for the Jalukbari constituency ahead of the Assam Assembly election, in Guwahati on Friday, March 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR GUWAHATI The last-minute alliance between the Congress and Raijor Dal has made the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contemplate fielding … Read more

Kerala’s fisherfolk hope to be heard this election season

Fishermen pulling a mechanised boat to the shore at Puthiyappa in Kozhikode district, Kerala. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh As Kerala gears up for the Assembly election, the State’s fishing community has renewed its call to political parties to address its livelihood concerns. Of the State’s 140 Assembly constituencies, around 40 are coastal, accounting for … Read more

‘Dindu’, the slender loris, is Dindigul district’s election mascot

Dindigul Collector S. Saravanan launches voter awareness logo ‘Dindu’ in the presence of election observers at the Collectorate in Dindigul on March 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan To commemorate the establishment of Slender Loris Conservation Centre in Dindigul and create voter awareness, Collector S. Saravanan on Thursday (March 19, 2026) unveiled Dindu, a … Read more

Election observers deployed in Thoothukudi; field inspection begins

Election Observer Yeluchuri Ratnakara Rao and Returning Officer M. Prabhu along with officials inspect the polling booths in Thoothukudi on Thursday. | Photo Credit: RAJESH N Election Observers appointed for the upcoming legislative assembly election for Thoothukudi district arrived in the district on Wednesday. A review meeting on election preparedness was held on Thursday, in … Read more

‘Dindu’, the slender loris, is Dindigul district’s election mascot

Dindigul Collector S. Saravanan launches voter awareness logo ‘Dindu’ in the presence of election observers at the Collectorate in Dindigul on March 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan To commemorate the establishment of Slender Loris Conservation Centre in Dindigul and create voter awareness, Collector S. Saravanan on Thursday (March 19, 2026) unveiled Dindu, a … Read more

Palaniswami meets Shah in Delhi to discuss sharing of seats

There have been reports that the AIADMK will contest 165 seats, and the BJP 27 in the Assembly election. | Photo Credit: File photo AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday night met the Union Home Minister and BJP strategist, Amit Shah, for finalising the seat-sharing arrangements for the April 23 Assembly election in … Read more

Kerala Assembly elections 2026: Congress denies ticket to Eldhose Kunnappillly, picks Mohammad Shiyas for Kochi

Ending the prolonged power struggle between the various factions and lobbies in the Congress that delayed the announcement of the full set of candidates, the party eventually thrashed out a formula and named its candidates for four of the Assembly constituencies in the district. Read | Assembly elections 2026 LIVE Tony Chammany The party chose … Read more

Five years on, Puducherry set to test ‘double engine’ model as NDA seeks second term

Puducherry, which saw its first-ever AINRC-BJP Government installed in 2021, gets its earliest opportunity to deliver a verdict on five years of the much-touted “double-engine” governance model when the Union Territory goes to the polls on April 9, 2026, to elect the 16th Legislative Assembly. The All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), led by four-time Chief … Read more

West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP announces second list of candidates; R.G. Kar rape-murder victim’s mother seeks ticket

A view of TMC and BJP flags along a bridge in the Pattabuka area of Karimpur, in Nadia. File | Photo Credit: ANI The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (March 19, 2026) announced candidates for 112 seats, which included three former MPs, but maintained silence on the candidature of Abhaya’s mother. On Thursday (March … Read more

Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: IUML bets on youth, ushers in generational shift

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership led by State president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal has sought to quell internal criticism by ushering in a generational shift through its candidate list for the April 9 Assembly election. The announcement of candidates on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) surprised many, particularly critics within the party, as it … Read more

​No gain in bargaining: On the Congress-DMK alliance

At a time when the opposition to the BJP has become fragmented or weakened across India, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in Tamil Nadu remains the most robust multi-party anti-BJP alliance, largely because of its ideological cohesion in a State with a distinct socio-political ethos and the seamless ability of its constituent parties to … Read more

TVK chief Vijay rules out alliances, says ‘no compromise on secular social justice principles’

TVK chief Vijay speaks at an iftar event organised by the party at Mamallapuram, near Chennai on March 18, 2026. Photo: X/@TVKHQITWingOffl Dismissing reports of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) likely joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the ensuing Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, party president Vijay on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) asserted there … Read more

Protests, dejection and call for retirement after several Trinamool Congress MLAs lose the ticket

Image for representative purposes only. | Photo Credit: PTI A day after the Trinamool Congress announced candidates for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, discontent surfaced among several senior party leaders who were denied a ticket. Protests erupted at Amdanga in the State’s North 24 Parganas on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) after supporters of three-time … Read more

Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: 10 of the 13 incumbent MLAs in Kozhikode contesting again; no woman candidate from CPI(M)

Thottathil Raveendran, LDF candidate from the Kozhikode North Assembly constituency, interacting with voters at East Hill in Kozhikode on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh As the final list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls is ready, 10 of the 13 incumbent MLAs in Kozhikode district are seeking re-election. There is no woman candidate … Read more