Election Commission Likely To Announce Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry Poll Schedule Today

India

oi-Ashish Rana

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce the schedule for the 2026 Assembly elections in poll-bound states and one Union Territory on Sunday, with a press conference scheduled for 4 pm.

India is heading into a packed electoral phase in 2026, with Assembly elections due in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, while several major states are also expected to witness urban local body elections later in the year. The Election Commission’s expected announcement today is set to formally kick-start one of the country’s biggest electoral cycles of the year.

ECI to hold press conference at 4 pm today

The Election Commission has said it will hold a press conference at 4 pm today, and the poll panel is widely expected to unveil the much-awaited election schedule for the upcoming Assembly polls in the five poll-bound regions.

The announcement comes after days of speculation over the timing of the election dates, with all attention now turning to the ECI’s briefing in New Delhi. The poll schedule, once announced, will determine the timeline for notification, nominations, scrutiny, withdrawal of candidatures, polling and counting.

Poll-bound states likely to go to polls in coming weeks

The 2026 Assembly elections are due in four states and one Union Territory:

• West Bengal
• Assam
• Tamil Nadu
• Kerala
• Puducherry

Among them, West Bengal is expected to be the most closely watched contest, given its size, political intensity and security considerations. Sources had earlier indicated that the state could again see a multi-phase election, though likely with fewer phases than in 2021, when polling was held across eight phases.

Assam is also expected to witness voting in multiple phases, while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry may go to the polls in a single phase, if the Election Commission follows the broad pattern indicated by earlier assessments.

Why today’s announcement is significant

The Election Commission was expected to wait until after March 15, which was seen as a key administrative milestone in the run-up to the polls. That is because March 15 marked the deadline for filing appeals against the final electoral roll in West Bengal, which had been published on February 28 and reportedly covered around 6.4 crore electors.

The appeal windows for the final electoral rolls in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry had already closed earlier, clearing the way for the Election Commission to move ahead with the poll schedule once preparations were reviewed.

With the West Bengal deadline now reached, today’s press conference is being seen as the most likely moment for the poll panel to formally announce the election programme.

Fewer phases possible, but security deployment may be higher

Earlier indications suggested that the Election Commission may look to conduct the 2026 elections in fewer phases than the 2021 Assembly polls, especially in sensitive states such as West Bengal and Assam.

To make a shorter polling window possible, there could be a larger deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), particularly in West Bengal. Sources had previously indicated that the total deployment of central forces for the upcoming elections could exceed the 1,500 companies that were used during the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

It was also indicated earlier that around 500 companies of CAPFs, or roughly 45,000 personnel, had already been placed on advance deployment in West Bengal as part of preparatory measures.

The Election Commission is also expected to keep a close watch on the deployment and randomisation of CAPF and state police personnel in the poll-bound regions through special police observers, police observers and CAPF nodal officers.

West Bengal likely to remain under sharp focus

West Bengal is expected to remain the centre of attention once the schedule is announced, both because of its 294 Assembly constituencies and because its current Assembly term is due to end on May 7.

That timeline means polling in the state could extend across April and early May, depending on the number of phases the Election Commission eventually announces.

The ECI had also earlier moved ahead with key administrative preparations in the state, including the appointment of returning officers for all 294 constituencies, after the state government reportedly agreed to provide officers of the required seniority.

Separately, the process related to scrutiny of a large number of ‘doubtful’ voter cases in West Bengal has also remained under watch, with supplementary electoral list updates expected as directed through the ongoing legal and administrative process.

Busy electoral year ahead for India

Beyond the Assembly polls, 2026 is expected to be a politically active year across India, with urban local body elections also lined up in several major states. That makes today’s expected announcement particularly important, as it sets the tone for the country’s wider electoral calendar in the months ahead.

For now, the focus remains firmly on the Election Commission’s 4 pm press conference, where the poll panel is likely to spell out the roadmap for the next round of high-stakes Assembly elections.