Election 2026 highlights: Voting ends with high turnout in Assam, Kerala; CEC calls elections ‘historic’

Puducherry Election LIVE: For 30-member Legislative Assembly of Puducherry, 10,14,070 electors are eligible to exercise their franchise.

• The electorate includes 5,39,125 female voters, 4,74,788 male voters, and 157 voters belonging to the third gender category.
• A total of 24,156 voters fall in the age group of 18-19 years, while 6,034 voters belong to the senior citizen category, aged 85 and above.

Kerala election 2026 LIVE: Kerala recorded a voter turnout of 16.23% till 9am after voter started at 7am.

• 2.71 crore electors will decide the fate of 883 candidates for its 140-member Legislative Assembly.
• It is a tight contest between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
• Officials said 277 voters have been registered in the 'third gender category.'Among the electorate, nearly 4,24,518 voters fall in the 18-19 age group, while 2,04,608 voters are aged 85 years and above

Kerala election 2026 LIVE: Senior Congress leader AK Antony casts arrived at the polling station in Thiruvananthapuram to cast his vote. He was accompanied by party leader MM Hassan.

Kerala election 2026 LIVE: Actor Mammootty and his wife Sulfath Kutty arrive at a polling station in Kochi to cast their vote.

Assam Election LIVE: Voter queued outside polling stations in Assam on Thursday after voting began at 7am. The voting will continue till 6pm.

Puducherry Election LIVE: Puducherry CM and All India NR Congress (AINRC) candidate from Mangalam and Thattanchavady assembly constituency, N Rangaswamy is confident of winning both the seats. “In both the constituencies, I will win. More than numbers, forming the government is important to me," he said.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: MoS MEA Pabitra Margherita arrived at a polling booth in Assam's Jorhat to cast his vote in the ongoing Assembly elections. “I have come to cast my vote. The festival of democracy, the greatest celebration of democracy, is underway. So I appeal to our people to come out to cast their vote for a strong democracy,” he said.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Stepping up the attack on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress general secretary and MP KC Venugopal called him an ‘arrogant’ and most ‘corrupt chief minister’. “Assam has an arrogant Chief Minister, most corrupt Chief Minister of the country. You see his arrogance, the way in which he sent Police to arrest Pawan Khera. The most dictatorial CM of this country, like Pinarayi Vijayan. People of Assam will teach him a lesson today,” Venugopal said.

Puducherry Election 2026 LIVE: Puducherry chief minister and All India NR Congress (AINRC) candidate from Mangalam and Thattanchavady assembly constituency, N Rangaswamy, left to cast his vote on a bike.

Puducherry Election 2026 LIVE: Puducherry recorded a voter turnout of 17.41% till 9am as voting began at 7am for 30-member Legislative Assembly.

Kerala Election 2026 LIVE: Kerala recorded a voter turnout of 16.23% till 9am as voting for 140-member Legislative Assembly began at 7am. Highest turnout was recorded in Ernakulam at 17.8% and lowest in Kasaragod at 15.08%.

Assam Election 2026 LIVE: Assam recorded a voter turnout of 17.87% till 9am after voting started at 7am on Thursday.

Assam Election 2026 LIVE: “I want Assam to develop more and more... I bless Gaurav... He speaks less but truthfully... I always pray for his progress,” said Lakshami Rani Gogoi, aunt of Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi.

Kerala Election 2026 LIVE: Former Union minister and BJP Kazahakootam candidate V Muraleedharan casts his vote in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala Election 2026 LIVE: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with his wife, daughter and son, cast their vote in Kannur at around 8 am.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan arrived with his wife and daughter at Kesari Government Arts and Science College and cast his vote.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi reached the polling booth at Devaswom English Medium School in Guruvayoor at 6.30 am and waited in the queue.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, after casting his vote, said the party is seeking an opportunity from voters to bring development in Kerala.

IUML leaders P K Kunhalikutty and Sayyid Sadikali Shihab Thangal also cast their votes in Malappuram in the morning.

Kerala Election 2026 LIVE: Kerala finance minister and Kottarakkara LDF candidate KN Balagopal said there is a positive trend among the people for the LDF. “The participation of voters shows that the democratic process is very positive. The polling percentage will be very high,” he said.

Kerala assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: As the voting is underway in Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the LDF cannot be defeated by any ‘false propaganda’. “We always trust the people, and the people trust us...We have travelled with the people for the last ten years, and that journey must continue. We are with the people, and the people are with us...Communal propaganda cannot defeat us,” he was quoted as saying by ANI. Vijayan was among early voters in Kerala, along with health minister Veena George, Union minister Suresh Gopi and Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar .

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: In his message for Puducherry voters, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge urged Puducherry citizens to exercise their franchise as he made a ‘statehood pitch'.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: KC Venugopal, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) and MP, cast his vote at a polling station in Ambalapuzha on Thursday, taking part in the ongoing polling process.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge appealed the voters in Kerala to vote in large numbers and choose government that ‘listens, cares, and delivers’. “Over the past years, you have faced rising unemployment, financial distress, and growing uncertainty. Farmers, plantation workers, youth, and small business owners have all asked a simple question: “Where is the relief? Where is the opportunity?",” Kharge wrote on X.

Kerala assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: CM Pinarayi Vijayan cast his vote in Kannur on Thursday morning.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Kerala Congress president Sunny Joseph exuded confidence and said the UDF will win majority seats in the state “UDF will win more than 100 seats. The local body results will be repeated. We are hopeful. My appeal to the people is to exercise their franchise rightly to elect a government led by the UDF to negate the anti-policy of the present government. The Chief Minister's name will be decided in consultation with the high command,” Joseph said after casting his vote.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Expressing confidence of UDF's ‘landslide win', Congress MP Hibi Eden said, “UDF is going to have a landslide victory. The people are waiting for a chance to vote against the Left government. The corrupt Panarayi government is going to be removed with this election. People were, for the last 10 years, fed up with the government... We don't expect the BJP to open a single seat in the state of Kerala.”

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Union minister Suresh Gopi praised the BJP's campaigning and said the party has done ‘solidly well’. “They have reached the last grain of the democratic campaign engineering. All those areas they have reached. The last bit they have touched. We can only wait for results. You know very well what the change is before and after,” he said after casting his vote in the Kerala assembly polls.

Assembly elections 2026 LIVE updates: Kerala LoP and Congress candidate from Paravur Assembly Constituency, VD Satheesan, casts his vote as voting is underway for Kerala Assembly elections.