Assembly elections 2026: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday appealed to the people of Assam, Kerala and Puducherry to exercise their franchise in large numbers in the assembly elections in their states.

Apart from English, in separate messages issued in Assamese, Malayalam and Tamil, the Prime Minister especially urged the youth and women to come forward and vote.

In a post on ‘X’, he said, ‘As voting begins for the Assam Assembly Elections 2026, I appeal to the people of Assam to exercise their franchise in large numbers. I hope that the youth and women voters of the state will participate enthusiastically and make this election a festival of democracy and public duty.

Calling upon the people of Kerala to vote in large numbers, the Prime Minister said the record participation will further strengthen the democratic spirit of the state. He said, ‘I especially request the youth and women of the state to come forward and vote in large numbers.’

The Prime Minister also urged every voter of Puducherry to vote in record numbers. He said, ‘I especially appeal to our youth and women voters to strengthen the democratic process. Every vote is important in shaping the future of Puducherry.

Voting is being held on Thursday for 126 assembly seats of Assam, 140 of Kerala and 30 of Puducherry. In Puducherry Assembly, candidates are elected by public vote for 30 seats while three members are nominated by the Central Government.

Assembly elections 2026: Voting is underway for the assembly elections in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry from 7 am. In the first two hours, less voting was recorded in Kerala compared to Assam and Puducherry.

According to Election Commission data, 17.87 percent voting took place in Assam till 9 am. At the same time, in the first two hours, 17.41 percent votes were cast in Puducherry and 16.23 percent in Kerala.

In Assam, Majuli district has recorded the highest turnout of 20.03 percent, followed by Morigaon district at 19.96 percent, Darrang at 19.74 percent, Goalpara at 19.66 percent and Jorhat at 19.01 percent. Till 9 am, Kamrup district of Assam had the lowest voter turnout of 15.36 percent.

At the same time, till 9 am, the highest turnout was in Ernakulam district of Kerala at 17.80 percent and the lowest was in Kasaragod district at 15.08 percent.

Let us tell you that 883 candidates are in the fray in Kerala, which means on an average six to seven candidates are trying their luck per seat. The number of voters here is 27 lakh, spread across more than 30,000 polling stations.

There are a total of more than 9.50 lakh voters in the Union Territory of Puducherry, consisting of four regions – Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. Of these, 24,919 voters will cast their vote for the first time. A total of 294 candidates are in the election fray.

A total of 722 candidates are in the fray in the Assam Assembly elections, including 59 women. There are approximately 25.05 million registered voters in Assam who are eligible to take part in these elections. The state has created 31,490 polling stations to ease the voting process.

This election is very important for the 126-member Assam Assembly, in which the BJP is trying to retain its power, while the Congress is hoping to return to the government. This election will be the first after the delimitation in this north-eastern state in 2023.

There is a contest between three alliances in the elections for 140 assembly seats in Kerala, in which LDF, UDF and NDA are face to face. Kerala’s Left Front is aiming to come to power for the fifth consecutive time. However, this time the CPI(M)-led LDF faces the challenge of retaining power, as the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA are giving it a tough fight.

Voting is taking place for 30 seats in Puducherry. The alliance led by ‘All India NR Congress’ (AINRC) is currently in power in this union territory, which is commanded by Chief Minister N. It is in the hands of Rangasamy and has the support of BJP.