Voting is being held in two phases in West Bengal on 23rd and 29th April, whereas in Tamil Nadu, voting will be held in a single phase on all assembly seats on 23rd April. The results of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will come together on May 4. The round of statements and allegations and counter-allegations is going on before voting in two states.
Assam CM’s attack on Mamata Banerjee
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and alleged that her speeches focus more on criticizing political opponents than governance. Addressing a public meeting in Cooch Behar district, Sarma said that Mamata Banerjee repeatedly mentions Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in her speeches and tries to create an atmosphere of fear among the people. He said, “His speeches are less on development works and more attacks on PM Modi and Home Minister Shah.”
Speaking on the issue of delimitation, the Chief Minister of Assam said that if this process is implemented then the eastern states will get a big benefit from it. He said that there could be a significant increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats in states like Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. “If delimitation happens, the eastern region will gain the most in terms of seats,” Sarma said, adding that it could improve the balance of representation in favor of states with growing populations.
Preparations completed to conduct fair elections in Tamil Nadu
The Election Commission has made strict preparations to conduct the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Dr. SS Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi held a review meeting of all the central observers posted in the state. Voting will be held for 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu in a single phase on 23 April 2026. In this regard, a total of 326 central observers participated in the meeting held on Friday through video conferencing. These include 136 general observers, 40 police observers and 150 expenditure observers. Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu also joined this meeting.
What’s in the manifesto of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam
BJP leader A.N.S. Prasad on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the election manifesto of actor-politician Vijay’s party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), terming it “unrealistic and fiscally irresponsible”. Prasad said in a statement that at least Rs 6 lakh crore would be needed to implement the welfare promises made in the manifesto, while Tamil Nadu’s debt is estimated to exceed Rs 10.71 lakh crore by 2026-27. In such a situation, serious questions arise on the practicality of these promises. He warned that such big promises without clear financial resources could put a huge strain on the state’s economy and impact future development work.
