Assembly Elections 2021 Highlights: It’s the assembly elections season in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Polling happened in a single phase in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on April 6, while voters in Assam cast their votes in three phases. Polling in Bengal is happening in eight phases. Of these, three phases have concluded. The next phase will take place on April 10. The election campaign and canvassing has continued there in full swing. Counting of votes in all states will happen on May 2. In Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is fighting to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s surge at bay. The saffron party has shown a dramatic electoral rise in the state over the last few years. In Assam, the state’s governing BJP is hoping to retain power even as it faces ‘Mahajot’, the joint opposition alliance comprising the Congress, AIUDF and other regional parties. Congress and the Left Front, which are allies in Bengal, are competing for power in Kerala. The Congress-led UDF and the ruling LDF have been winning alternate elections since the early 1980s. Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK has continued its alliance with the BJP amid a challenge from MK Stalin-led DMK and its alliance partners. However, one of the key things to watch out for in the southern state is how some of the smaller parties – including that of actor Kamal Haasan and TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK – may impact the poll outcome. With their government having collapsed due to defections weeks before the election, V Narayanasamy-led Congress is battling the BJP-NR Congress alliance in Puducherry.
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Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday denied he had breached the Model Code of Conduct during the poll campaign for the just concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by making some remarks about late BJP leaders Sushma Sawaraj and Arun Jaitley. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
A case of violation of model code of conduct has been registered against Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani, police said on Wednesday. The Minister allegedly took his car with an AIADMK party flag near a polling booth on Tuesday, the polling day in the state, which was the violation, the police said. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Union Min Smriti Irani in Phansidewa, Darjeeling:
Mamata ji's hooliganism took another turn but people of West Bengal have decided to stop it. She can see her defeat in these polls. She was against poor in Bengal & is now speaking against paramilitary forces. (ANI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | West Bengal CM and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee:
BJP came with lakhs of goons from outside to capture Bengal. It is not so easy. First think about Delhi and then Bengal.
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah in West Bengal's Domjur:
I visited only one gram panchayat but with the enthusiasm I saw, I am confident that Rajib Banerjee will win with a majority. On May 2, BJP will form the government with over 200 seats. Mamata Banerjee's frustration can be seen in her speeches and behaviour. (ANI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Congress demands CCTV feed from strong rooms for candidates
The Congress today demanded that CCTV feed from strong rooms across Assam be madeavailable to candidates, the state Congress chief said. Assam Congress president Ripun Bora has written a letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade seeking access to CCTV feeds from strong rooms, whereElectronic Voting Machines are kept, to make the process more transparent.The Congress also accused the Election Commission of acting "as per instructions of the BJP". (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Amit Shah holds roadshow in Bengal's Singur, assures industrialisation
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a colourful roadshow in West Bengal's Singur today, once a hot spotof the anti-land acquisition movement, and promised rapid industrialisation of the area if BJP is voted to power.The symbolism of the home minister holding a road show in Singur, three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally there and alleged the "obstructionist mindset" of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee deprived West Bengal ofindustries and jobs, was clear--the BJP wants to corner her over the state's dwindling industrial base and alleged job loss. Lustily cheered by crowds, Shah stood atop a decoratedvehicle with BJP candidate for the Singur seat Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who recently joined the saffron party after
leaving the Trinamool Congress, and smilingly waved at people standing by the roadside and on terraces and balconies. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Cooch Behar:
We want free & fair polls, public should be allowed to cast their votes. CRPF shouldn't obstruct them from entering the polling center. I respect CRPF who are real jawans but I don't respect BJP CRPF who are doing nuisance, attacking women & harassing people.
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
A look at seats won by political parties in West Bengal in the last five Assembly elections
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | After Singur, Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will hold roadshows at three more places in West Bengal:
>Domjurat 1:35 pm
> HowrahMadhyaat 3 pm
>BehalaPurbaat 4:40 pm
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | EC removes returning officers of 8 Kolkata constituencies
The Election Commission has removed returning officers of eight constituencies in Kolkatathat will go to the polls in the last two phases of the West Bengal assembly elections on April 26 and 29, an officialsaid today. New officials have already been appointed in the Chowringhee, Entally, Bhowanipur, Beliaghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Kashipur-Belgachia and Kolkata Port assemblysegments, he said. Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab described the transfer of the eight returning officers "as a routine move since they had held their posts for more than three years". Sources in the poll panel said complaints were received against the officers for allegedly favouring theruling Trinamool Congress. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, who had tested positive for COVID-19 recently, cast her vote clad in a personal protective equipment (PPE) suit, at a polling station in Chennai's Mylapore on April 6. The 53-year-old DMK leader arrived in an ambulance from the hospital where she is being treated for the infectious disease and voted in the single-phase election's final hour, earmarked for COVID-19 patients.
Read more | Tamil Nadu Election 2021: DMK's Kanimozhi, COVID-19 positive, casts vote in PPE suit
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
The highest provisional turnout was reported from Assam, where 83.69 percent voters exercised their franchise across 40 seats for its third and last phase of the 2021 assembly election.
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
The Election Commission has suspended fourofficials in connection with the recovery of three Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and four Voter Verifiable Paper AuditTrails (VVPATs) from the house of an alleged TMC leader in Tulsiberia in Uluberia Uttar (SC) assembly constituency, Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab said. He said three home guards who were on duty there havebeen demobilised. Though the seals of the EVMs and VVPATs were "intact",the machines will not be used any further, he said.
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
Polling in the West Bengal Assembly election is happening in eight phases. Of these, three phases have concluded. The next phase will take place on April 10.
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
On the busiest day of the ongoing Legislative Assembly elections yesterday when all four poll-bound states — West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Tamil Nadu — and the Union Territory of Puducherry went to polls, many politicians and actors visitedpolling booths to cast their votes. Take a look:
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Violence, attack on candidates mar third phase of West Bengal Assembly election
Five candidates, including twowomen, were assaulted, while clashes between rival political groups erupted during the third phase of polling in WestBengal yesterday. However, despite the violence, voter enthusiasm was high with 77.68 percent of voters casting their ballots till 5 pm, two hours before polling ended. Polls were conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, officials said.Voting in 16 seats in South 24 Parganas district (part II), saw 76.68 percent votes being cast by 5 pm. While 77.93percent votes were cast in seven seats in Howrah (part I) and 79.36 percent in eight in Hooghly (part I), they added. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Tamil Nadu Assembly polls end peacefully
The Tamil Nadu Assembly electionsended peacefully yesterday and the voter turnout stood at 71.79 percent with people sealing the fate of nearly 4,000 candidates including that of AIADMK's K Palaniswami and DMK chief MK Stalin, the key contenders for power. The 71-plus polling percentage is likely to go up with the completion of data collation, Chief Electoral OfficerSatyabrata Sahoo told reporters. The EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail units functioned well and less than one percent warranted replacements, he said. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Mamata accuses BJP of spreading misinformation about raising Narayani Sena
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday accused BJP of spreadingmisinformation about raising a Narayani Sena central paramilitary force after the polls citing an unverified RTIreply by the Centre. Banerjee said that top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promising at recent meetings that the Centre will raise a Narayani Sena force on the linesof other paramilitary forces in the country. The demand for Narayani Sena has been a long-standing demand of the Rajbanshi community in north Bengal. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Action will be taken against people involved in assault on candidates in phase 3 of Bengal polls: Official
Action will be taken against those who were involved in assault on candidates in someconstituencies during the third phase of assembly elections in West Bengal yesterday, Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftabsaid. Aftab said his office has received a total of 1,802 complaints during the day and arrested 11 people for their alleged involvement in the attacks on candidates. "Polling was more less peaceful barring some sporadic violence. There have been some incidents of assault on candidates and we have sought reports. Action will be taken against those who are found guilty," he said. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates |
Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will hold four roadshows in West Bengal today. They will be in Singur (12 noon), Domjur (1.30 pm), Howrah Madhya (3 pm) and Behala Purba (4.30 pm).
ssembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Minor incidents of violence reported in some places in Kerala
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Two voters, including a woman, standing in the queuein Aranmula in Pathnamthitta and Chavittuavary in Kottayamin collapsed and died. Tempers ran high at Kattayikonam in Kazhakootamconstituency, a stronghold of the Marxist party in Thiruvananthapuram district, as CPI(M) and BJP workers clashed. Four BJP workers were injured and their car was damaged. Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who is theLDF candidate from the constituency, told reporters that the aim of the protestors was to disrupt the voting procedure andalleged that police had acted as "BJP agent". Three Marxist workers, including the minister'spersonal staff, have been taken into custody. (PTI)
Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates | Impressive turnout in high-stakes assembly elections; Clashes reported in several areas
A high voter turnout of 65 percent to over 82 percent was recorded in assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal yesterday, with the Congress along with its allies like the DMK locked in a keen contest to regain turf in South India. Polling was held in 475 seats across the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry, and the remaining phases will cover only West Bengal, before the counting of votes on May 2.
In Kerala, where the Left is hoping to beat anti-incumbency to retain power, a feat unseen in four decades, and the BJP is making efforts to build inroads, around 74 percent polling was recorded in the 140 seats till 7 PM. There was nearly 65 percent voting in Tamil Nadu for 234 assembly constituencies and around 80 percent in Puducherry's 30 seats. The three-phase assembly election culminated in Assam with 82.33 percent polling in 40 seats in the final round in the state where the ruling BJP is battling the Congress-led alliance to retain power. The trend of high turnout and violence during polling continued in West Bengal as the ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP and the Left-Congress alliance put up an intense fight in the high-stakes contest. (PTI)
Hello and welcome to Moneycontrol’s LIVE coverage of the Assembly Election 2021 in four states and one union territory.
Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry are witnessing assembly polls.
Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates through the day.
