Assembly elections 2026 LIVE: EC tightens grip on Bengal polls with strategic officer transfers as Trinamool faces protests over denial of tickets

Security personnel conduct a route march after the Election Commission announced the dates for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, in Bolpur, Birbhum district of West Bengal, Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The Election Commission on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) intensified preparations for the West Bengal Assembly elections, ordering a fresh reshuffle of senior officers, posting two secretaries to other poll-bound States as observers, and deploying 13 IAS and five IPS officers in key poll management roles, an official said.

Tamil Nadu election: Persons with disabilities to launch campaign for accessibility in Chennai

The BJP’s Central Election Committee held a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss and finalise the names of the party candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Assam and Puducherry. The meeting, presided over by BJP chief Nitin Nabin, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and party national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh, among others.

Assembly elections 2026 Highlights: Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi joins BJP

In West Bengal, signs of simmering rebellion surfaced within the ruling TMC a day after the party unveiled its candidate list for the Assembly polls, with several sitting MLAs and leaders openly expressing resentment over being denied tickets in what the party describes as a sweeping “controlled churn” to counter anti-incumbency.

Editorial | Poll bugles: On the five Assembly elections

Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry will go to the 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.