Assembly Elections 2026 LIVE: Alliance only for elections; ideology is permanent, says Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Refuting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s “delimitation will divide Bengal” claim, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said that she does not have other issues to discuss ahead of the 2026 State Assembly elections.

When asked about CM Mamata’s statement, Adhikari told reporters, “ (It is a) Lie... She does not have any issues (to speak about). Women are not safe in West Bengal; there is unemployment, and she is practising the politics of appeasement. The public has made up its mind to vote for the BJP.”

Mamata Banerjee had said that the special sitting of Parliament to bring in an amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been called amid elections and alleged the government is bringing the Delimitation Bill without consultations.

She alleged that the Centre wants delimitation, a process to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, to “divide Bengal.”

-ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Mylapore constituency, Tamilisai Soundararajan, today launched a frontal attack on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), saying that the party “cannot claim development at all” and has “always lied” to people.

Ahead of the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, she accused the ruling party of failing to deliver on development promises and alleged widespread corruption.

Speaking to ANI, she said, “They always lie. You can go and ask people. When did the MLA come here in the last 5 years, and what al problems were solved? It is not only Mylapore. It is there in all constituencies. So, DMK cannot claim development at all. There are corruption charges against more than 11 ministers...Everything should be curtailed and NDA should come to power. In Mylapore, there should be a change of MLA. I will be a sister of Mylapore.”

-ANI

The Opposition Congress has approached the Supreme Court against the cancellation of the Ponda assembly seat byelection in Goa, party leader Girish Chodankar said today.

Dr. Ketan Bhatikar, who was the Opposition party’s candidate for the Ponda assembly seat, has filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the Bombay High Court’s order which cancelled the bypoll, Congress Working Committee member Chodankar told PTI.

The Bombay High Court’s Goa bench on April 8 quashed the Election Commission of India’s notification for the byelection, citing violation of the Representation of the People Act, as the legislature’s term is set to expire in less than a year.

Two registered voters in the constituency had moved the HC challenging the validity of the notification on the ground that less than one year of the current Goa legislative assembly’s term was left. The term will expire on March 14, 2027.

-PTI

Former Minister D. Jayakumar says every party in the alliance has its own ideology, but the AIADMK will not be influenced by them. Confident of a win because of the party’s strong voter base and coalition votes, the Royapuram candidate promises to develop infrastructure and fulfil the people’s needs. 

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Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2023, on Sunday (April 12, 2026) joined the Trinamool Congress. Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls, Mr. Bose said his earlier decision to join the BJP was a “historic mistake.” 

“A few years ago I had made a historic mistake by being a part of the BJP. I rectified that mistake by joining the TMC, because with Bengal’s history, tradition and culture, there are no similarities with the BJP,” Mr. Chandra Bose said.

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Tamil Nadu is going to polls on April 23 and political parties have made a slew of promises, many of them having women and education at their centre. At this point, an indicator-based analysis shows that though the State remains a frontrunner on several economic, educational and women-related indicators, concerns remain.

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Alliances were only for election time, whereas ideology was permanent, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Sunday, asserting that minorities, particularly Muslims, need not fear the AIADMK’s association with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the party would continue to follow the ideological path laid down by late leaders M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.

Addressing a campaign meeting in Nagapattinam, he said keeping an alliance with a party did not mean the AIADMK would listen to whatever the ally said. “We have clarified our alliance. The NDA is headed by the AIADMK and the AIADMK will form the government. I will be announced as Chief Minister. In this case, where is Delhi coming here?” he asked.

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