Puducherry Assembly elections 2026: full schedule

The Election Commission of India on Sunday (March 15, 2026) announced the full schedule for Puducherry Assembly. The Union Territory (UT) will hold elections in a single phase on April 9, 2026, with the vote counting scheduled on May 4, 2026.

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The high-stakes electoral contest in 2026 is set to witness a tough contest between the ruling AINRC-BJP coalition and the opposing DMK-Congress alliance. With elections being held for 30 Assembly seats, five are reserved for Scheduled Castes.

According to the ECI, the Puducherry Assembly polls will see 9.44 lakh registered voters (including 23 thousand first-time voters, 12 thousand voters with disabilities, 139 third genders, and 6,034 senior citizens). The UT has a total of 1099 polling stations for 2026 Assembly polls.

Following the announcement of the poll schedule, the Model Code of Conduct is now in immediate effect in the States and Union Territories preparing for elections.

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Elections are also being held in four States viz. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam.

Polling dates for Puducherry (Seats: 30)

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: March 16, 2026

Last date for nominations: March 23, 2026

Scrutiny of nominations: March 24, 2026

Last date for withdrawal: March 26, 2026

Date of voting: April 9, 2026

Counting of votes: May 4, 2026