Assembly Elections LIVE updates: T.N. CM Stalin takes surprise ride in Chennai Metro, interacts with passengers

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday (April 11, 2026) morning took a surprise ride on the Chennai Metro Rail from Chennai Central to AG-DMS as part of his public outreach for the ongoing Assembly election campaign.

Expressing confidence in the United Democratic Front (UDF)’s prospects, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, MP, on Thursday said the strong voter turnout across Kerala points to a growing desire for change in the State.

Mr. Tharoor opined that the high participation suggests people are “voting for change”, which he said could only come through the “replacement” of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government with a UDF administration after 10 years in power.

Kooli kettan, athan gundadi pattu sethan - My husband asked for wages, but died in police firing – was a popular slogan of the DMK which had captured the imagination of people. Late poet Kudiyarasu, who was with the DMK before shifting to Vaiko’s MDMK, often recalled how the slogan coined by DMK veteran M. Karunanidhi transformed the dynamics of the 1967 Assembly election.

Muslim voters account for more than a third of the 90 lakh names removed from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the course of the special intensive revision (SIR) process, disproportionately higher than their share of the State’s population.

A comparison of booth level data before and after the SIR shows that 57.47 lakh, or 63% of the deleted voters are Hindus, while 31.1 lakh or 34% are Muslims. This figure assumes significance because Muslims accounted for only 27% of the State’s population as per the last census in 2011. In absolute terms, however, Hindus account for the largest number of deletions.

Tribals are at the core of Anaicut Assembly constitutency that encompasses hillocks like Peenjamanthai, Jarthankollai, Kurumalai and Palampattu in Jawadhu Hills in Vellore district. Basic civic needs like bitumen roads, water supply, electricity connection and a government hospital still remain a distant dream for residents in the hills.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) candidate for the Thousand Lights constituency, J.C.D. Prabhakar, claims that his party has gained enormous influence and trust among people within a short period of time. 

Speaking to The Hindu amid his election campaign at Choolaimedu on Thursday (April 9), Mr. Prabhakar, a two-time former legislator from the AIADMK shared his views about the TVK, its symbol and issues in Thousand Lights.

Tamil Nadu has more women electors than men, and the political parties in the State have long vied with one another for announcing welfare schemes designed for the benefit of women. The Election Commission of India, too, is adapting itself to a similar reality. It has modified some of its procedures to suit the scenario in Tamil Nadu.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday (April 9) asserted that while death was inevitable for all humans, the welfare schemes implemented by his government would endure beyond his lifetime.

Addressing an election meeting in Padappai, in the composite Kancheepuram district — the birthplace of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai — he declared: “Stalin will rule Tamil Nadu so long as the welfare schemes are in vogue.” He was seeking votes for Minister T.M. Anbarasan in Alandur, K. Selvaperunthagai in Sriperumbudur, and other candidates.

As Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry head to the polls, India’s vibrant democracy is on full display once again. But behind the rallies and roadshows, there is a growing concern: elections are becoming increasingly expensive. With political parties spending heavily on campaigns, advertising, and outreach, the role of money in shaping electoral competition is under scrutiny.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has severed its short-lived alliance with Humayun Kabir’s party and announced that it will contest the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections independently.

Assam witnessed its highest-ever voter turnout in Assembly elections on Thursday (April 9, 2026), with 85.9% polling recorded as of 11:56 p.m.., according to ECINet app.

In Assam, the bulk of the State’s 2.5 crore voters have sealed the fate of 722 candidates, including 59 women. Officials said voting was largely peaceful, despite reports of violence in a few constituencies, including Khowang and Tamulpur, and allegations of proxy voting at a booth in the Guwahati Central constituency.

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A steady flow of electors to the polling stations in Puducherry on Thursday (April 9, 2026) turned the 2026 Assembly election into a record breaking one.

Breaking all previous polling percentages, Puducherry on Thursday (April 9, 2026) registered a record 89. 74% polling with almost half of the constituencies crossing the 90% polling mark by 8 p.m. Enthusiasm among the voters was very visible from dawn as people thronged the polling stations much before the voting process even started around 7 a.m.

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​Kerala​ recorded 78.27% polling in the Assembly elections held on Thursday (April 9, 2026) as of 11:56 p.m. after what has been a short but intense period of electioneering in the State. According to the Election Commission of India (EC), 80.86% of female voters, 75.01% of male voters, and 57.04% of transgender voters in Kerala cast their votes.

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The BJP has struggled to establish a foothold on its own in Tamil Nadu, where politics has been dominated by the Dravidian majors for more than five decades, but the party has gained momentum in the State in recent years.

The BJP was long viewed as a “North Indian” party, with the Dravidian majors, particularly the DMK, carefully constructing a narrative portraying the BJP as a political outsider in the State.

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Battle lines for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly election have now been clearly drawn, with the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ending on Thursday (April 9, 2026), and over 4,600 candidates in the fray.

Besides the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance, and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi, actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is also seeking the people’s mandate this Assembly election.

The Trinamool Congress on Thursday (April 9, 2026) alleged that Aam Janata Unnyan Party (AJUP) chief Humayun Kabir took money from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “plot and mislead” Muslims of West Bengal. The party shared viral sting operation videos from a conversation between Mr. Kabir and an unidentified man. However, Mr. Kabir dismissed all the allegations.