New Delhi, Apr 9: Assam and Puducherry surpassed their highest-ever poll-participation on Thursday by recording 85.38 per cent and 89.83 per cent respectively, the Election Commission said.
Previously, the highest poll participation in Assam and Puducherry was 84.67 per cent (2016 assembly polls) and 86.19 per cent (2011 assembly polls) respectively, the poll authority noted.
In Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, where assembly polls were held on Thursday, women voters outdid their male counterparts by lining up at voting centres.
In Assam, while male participation stood at 84.80 per cent, female voter turnout was recorded at 85.96 per cent.
Similarly in Kerala, the male poll participation was 75.01 per cent, while it was 80.86 per cent for women.
In the Union Territory of Puducherry, 88.09 per cent of the male electors voted as compared to 91.33 per cent of the women.
A total of 296 assembly constituencies in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry with a total electorate of over 5.31 crore went to polls, along with the byelections in four assembly seats of Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura.
Responding to the turnout, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, “Assembly elections 2026 in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are a historic testimony not only for India but for the entire democratic world. On behalf of EC, I congratulate each and every elector of Assam, Puducherry and Kerala for this historic achievement.”
Dubbing the high voter turnout as “historic,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma said the result of this “election is already visible– in the hope, pride, and happiness” on the faces of our people. However, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi asserted that the overwhelming turnout was for a “new and greater Assam” and a new leadership at the helm.
“It is now the responsibility of the ECI to ensure the security of EVMs and conduct the counting of votes accurately,” Gogoi added.
Both Sarma and Gogoi are among the 722 candidates contesting from 126 constituencies in these elections. The total number of voters is 2.5 crore. In 2021, Assam recorded 82.04 per cent in the assembly polls.
In Kerala, where competition between the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) has traditionally driven high participation, 883 candidates are contesting from the 140 assembly constituencies. The total number of voters is 2.71 crore.
CPI(M) leader C N Mohanan said an increase in the polling percentage would benefit the LDF because its workers had worked to ensure maximum voter turnout.
BJP Ernakulam district president K S Shaiju said the increase in polling percentage resulted from a higher turnout of women voters, and this would favour the BJP. Congress leader Deepthi Mary Varghese, however, said the reasons behind the rise in the polling percentage required detailed analysis.”Usually, the trend is that when the polling percentage rises, it turns favourable to the UDF. However, a detailed analysis is required in this matter,” she said.
Thursday’s elections are the first leg of the polls in four states and one UT: Kerala and Assam. West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, and in Tamil Nadu, the polls will occur in one phase on April 23. Vote counting for all four states and the UT will be on May 4.
The elections are taking place against the backdrop of the West Asia conflict, which has triggered an LPG crisis in the country. This issue was also prominent in the poll campaign, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders assuring a stable supply, while the opposition attacked the Central government over the potential shortage.
While the polling was largely peaceful in Kerala and Puducherry, officials said seven people were held in connection with election-related violence at two places in Assam. Besides, minor clashes also erupted at several polling booths in Assam after voting began in the morning, causing minor injuries, they said.
In Puducherry, a robot carrying a plate of flower petals welcomed voters at a model polling booth set up at the VOC government higher secondary school in the Raj Bhavan constituency. Moving along the corridor, the robot greeted visitors.
