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

Puducherry Election LIVE: Puducherry witnessed a voter turnout of 72.40 per cent till 3 pm, according to Election Commission figures.

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala saw a voter turnout of 62.71 per cent till 3 pm, according to Election Commission figures. Kerala chief electoral officer Rathan U Kelkar earlier said the voting trend indicated that 90 per cent voter turnout would be seen in the state.

Assam Election LIVE: Assam saw a surge in voter turnout, with 75.91% recorded till 3 pm, according to Election Commission figures.

Election 2026 LIVE: Ratna Debnath filed her nomination as the BJP candidate from Panihati on Thursday for the upcoming West Bengal elections.

Debnath is the mother of a trainee doctor who was raped and murdered in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in August 2024. She was accompanied by senior BJP leader and former Union minister Smriti Irani and district party leaders, PTI news agency reported. After filing her nomination, Debnath told reporters her sole aim was to defeat the TMC, saying this would ensure women's safety in the state and prevent a recurrence of incidents like the RG Kar case, PTI reported.

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala chief electoral officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar on Thursday said the voting trend indicated that 90 per cent voter turnout would be seen in the state. “If the current trend continues, by the time polling concludes, we are confident we will see a turnout of 90 per cent,” PTI news agency cited Kelkar as saying.

The turnout was at 49.70 per cent at 1 pm, according to Election Commission figures.

Kerala Election LIVE: Nagaland's Koridang assembly bypoll saw a voter turnout above 59 per cent till 1 pm on Thursday, officials said.

The voting for the seat commenced at 7 pm and polling across all 30 stations has been peaceful, PTI cited the officials as saying. Voting will continue till 4 pm.

Security was tightened across the constituency following violence on April 5 and 6, in which one person died, and several vehicles were damaged. The byelection was necessitated after the demise of sitting BJP MLA Imkong L. Imchen. For the seat, the BJP, which is part of the ruling People's Democratic Alliance, has fielded the deceased MLA's son Daochier I. Imchen, while the Congress has nominated T. Chalukumba Ao.

Kerala Election LIVE: A newly-wed couple in Kerala's Pathanamthitta turned up to cast their votes right after getting married, PTI news agency reported. Divyasree and Ashwant, who got married at around 9 am, came to the polling station around noon from the wedding hall.

Ashwant said the wedding date was fixed in January much before the polling date was announced and therefore, it was a coincidence that both fell on the same day, PTI reported.

Another bride from from northern Wayanad district also voted first before leaving for her own wedding ceremony.

Kerala Election LIVE: BJP Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency candidate and the party's state unit vice president R Sreelekha on Thursday expressed confidence of a “landmark victory.”

“I am confident that NDA will make a landmark victory in Keralam this time. This is the right time. The anti-incumbency is very high. People want NDA to come. Everywhere I go, I get a feeling that people are voting for NDA,” Sreelekha told ANI news agency. Sreelekha claimed that people were “fed up with the corruption, arrogance of the Ministers, temple looting.”

The BJP candidate further said that the UDF would also not be elected “because there will not be much change.” “But if NDA comes, then the hurdle between the state government and central government will be removed, and it will be a change for the better,” Sreelekha added.

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday cast his vote, urging voters to exercise their franchise. “I request all the people in the state to come out in large numbers and perform their sacred duty,” PTI news agency cited Arlekar as saying.

Arlekar voted at a polling booth in Jawahar Nagar in Vattiyoorkavu constituency. “Hoping that good people get elected. The government we want will come, and there is no doubt about that,” PTI cited him as saying.

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala chief electoral officer, Rathan U Kelkar said the voting in Kerala has been peaceful and 90% voter turnout is expected. He said 4.6 lakh first-time voters are in the electoral rolls. “The election in Keralam has been very peaceful and very progressive. At this point in time, we have crossed around 40% of our polling percentage. Looking at the trend, we are very hopeful that we'll be able to reach our target of 90%. The polling started on time at 7 a.m., and at 6 p.m. we'll be closing the polling. It's very heartening to see people turning up in big numbers. We hope that we'll be able to meet our target. This time, the first-time voters have also turned out in big numbers,” Kelkar said.

via ANI

Kerala Election LIVE: Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said that the UDF will come to power with over 100 seats in the elections.

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala logged a voter turnout of 49.7% till 1pm with highest votes polled in Ernakulam (52.94%) and lowest in Kasaragod (47.61%).

Assam Election LIVE: By 1pm, Assam recorded a voter turnout of 59.63%. Voting started for 126 seats at 7am and will continue till 6pm with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

Assam Election LIVE: After casting his vote, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said people will give a decisive mandate for the development of Assam. “The decision we take today will decide the route and fate of Assam for the next five years. I think people are going to give a decisive mandate for the development of Assam,” he said.

Karnataka bypolls LIVE: At least 27.83 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 11 am on Thursday.

Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 22.01 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said on Thursday.

The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).

via PTI

Kerala Election LIVE: Congress candidate from Haripad, Ramesh Chennithala expressedconfidence that his party will win over 100 seats and said voters are tired of the current government's 10-year rule. “We are very confident that we are winning on more than 100 seats in the Assembly elections and forming an efficient government in Keralam. The people are tired of this current govt. Their 10-year rule was a misrule, and the Sabarimala issue is a major one. Narendra Modi has no relevance in Keralam,” Chennithala told ANI.

Kerala Election LIVE: A 62-year-old man collapsed and died after casting his vote at Vaniampara here on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Vinodan, a native of Ramanchira near Vaniampara, police said.

According to police, Vinodan had reached EKM UP School in Vaniampara in the morning to cast his vote. After standing in the queue for nearly an hour, he exercised his franchise.

While coming out of the polling station, he suddenly collapsed at around 10.45 am, police said. Though people nearby rushed to help seat him on a chair, his condition worsened, police said.

An ambulance soon reached the spot and shifted him to a government hospital, where he was declared dead. A case will be registered and investigation initiated into the incident, police said.

via PTI

Assam Election LIVE: A poll official was found dead in Assam's Sonitpur district on Thursday amid assembly elections in the state, officials said.

Deben Horo (45) was deputed as the second polling officer in the Naduar constituency, they said.

"Hore was deputed in polling station no 230 in Dolapani LP School. He was found unconscious in his bed this morning. He was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance, but he was pronounced dead by the doctors," an official said.

The cause of death is yet to be confirmed, though doctors suspect an underlying medical condition led to it, he said.

via PTI

Kerala Election LIVE: Kerala recorded a voter turnout of 33.30% till 11 am. 2.71 crore electors will decide the fate of 883 candidates for its 140-member Legislative Assembly in a tight contest between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Puducherry Election LIVE: Puducherry logged a voter turnout of 37.06% as voting commenced at 7am. For 30-member Legislative Assembly of Puducherry, 10,14,070 electors are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Kerala Election LIVE: Senior Congress leader and Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor cast his vote in Thiruvananthapuram as the voting for 140-member Legislative Assembly is underway in Kerala.

Assam Election LIVE: Assam recorded a voter turnout of 38.92% till 11 am after voting commenced at 7am as polling for 126 seats is being held today where over 2.50 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise with 722 candidates in the fray. The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term. The Congress-led alliance includes Raijor Dal and CPI(M)

Bypoll voting LIVE: Nearly 20% of 22,382 electors exercised their franchise in Nagaland's Koridang Assembly bypoll in the first two hours of polling on Thursday, officials said. The voting that commenced at 7 am across all 30 polling stations has so far been peaceful, they said.

Following Nagaland, Tripura's Dharmanagar (56) registered a solid 15.63% turnout, placing it second in the early trends.

In Karnataka, turnout has been comparatively moderate, with Bagalkot (24) reporting 11.87%, while Davangere South (107) trailed with 9.01%.

Assam Election LIVE: BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal casts his vote in Dibrugarh as polling is underway in the state for the assembly elections. “Together with our allies we will win around 100 seats.,” Sonowal was quoted as saying by ANI.

Assam recorded a voter turnout of 17.87% till 9am.

Assam Election LIVE: Polling for 126 seats will be held today where over 2.50 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise with 722 candidates in the fray.

• The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term. The Congress-led alliance includes Raijor Dal and CPI(M).
• Of 2,50,54,463 electors, 1,25,31,552 are male voters and 1,25,22,593 females. There are 318 voters in the Transgender category and 63,423 service voters.
• Among the electorate, 6,42,314 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years, 2,50,006 are above 80 years of age, and 2,05,085 are persons with disabilities.