Assembly election LIVE: 116 candidates, including CM, Speaker, LoP file nominations in Assam till Friday

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Assam Congress on Friday (March 20, 2026) released the fourth list of seven candidates, taking the total tally to 94 in the 126-seat Assembly elections.

Published - March 21, 2026 08:05 am IST

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma takes part in a rally en route to file nomination for the Jalukbari constituency ahead of the State Assembly elections, in Guwahati, Friday, March 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: -

In Assam, a total of 116 candidates, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had filed their nomination papers till Friday (March 20, 2026) for elections to 126 Assam Assembly constituencies, officials said. Altogether 109 candidates filed their nominations on Friday (March 20, 2026), while seven had filed the previous day.

Assembly elections 2026 updates: Mamata releases TMC manifesto, claims ‘unofficial President’s Rule’ imposed in poll-bound Bengal

The TMC on Friday (March 20, 2026) unveiled its manifesto ‘Banglar Jonno Didir 10 Protigya’ for the West Bengal Assembly elections, focusing on welfare expansion, women and minority outreach, and targeted social schemes as it seeks a fourth consecutive term.

At the centre of the manifesto lies a ₹500 hike in the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme, widely regarded as the ruling party’s most politically potent welfare programme, with the monthly assistance promised to rise to ₹1,500 for women from the general category and ₹1,700 for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries.

Editorial | Poll bugles: On the five Assembly elections

Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry will go to polls on April 9, 2026. In Tamil Nadu, the election will be conducted on April 23. The first phase of elections will happen on April 23, 2026 in West Bengal and the second phase on April 29, 2026. The counting for all these elections will be held on May 4, 2026.

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March 21, 2026 08:05
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Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: Women leaders raise voices of protest over denial of seat
Congress leader Shama Mohamed has lashed out at the party leadership for overlooking women in the party’s candidate selection for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala.
In a post on her Facebook page on Friday, a day after the Congress put out its list of candidates, she said that only nine out of the 92 candidates of the party are women.
“I have been rejected, but not defeated. I request my leader Rahul Gandhi, whom I admire, respect, and adore, to help the Congress women of Kerala. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, only one woman was given a ticket out of the 16 persons who contested. If a woman happens to be talented, the situation is dire,” she wrote.
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