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Voting also held in the federal territory of \u200bPuducherry, while West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will vote later this month.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n By <\/span>Anadolu, AP and Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Published On 9 Apr 2026<\/span>9 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Millions of \u200cIndians have voted in local elections in two states and a federally-governed territory, kicking \u2060off five key \u2060contests scheduled this month as a test of support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).<\/p>\n Voting was held on Thursday in Assam and Kerala, along with the Union Territory of Puducherry, while West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will vote later this month.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Results from all the elections are due on May 4.<\/p>\n As nearly 174 million voters headed to the polling stations on Thursday to elect more than 290 legislators, Modi appealed to people to exercise their franchise in large numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that the state\u2019s youth and women voters participate enthusiastically and make this election a celebration of democracy and public duty,\u201d Modi said in a post on X.<\/p>\n State elections do not directly affect the stability of India\u2019s federal government, but are closely watched as a test of voter sentiment towards the ruling \u2060coalition.<\/p>\n A BJP-led alliance has ruled the northeastern state of Assam for two successive terms and is expected to retain power, according to public opinion platform Vote Vibe.<\/p>\n In its campaign, the right-wing BJP targeted millions of mainly Bengali-origin Muslims who migrated to Assam in waves \u2013 most during British rule, which ended in 1947 \u2013 from East Bengal (modern Bangladesh).<\/p>\n The BJP did not field any Muslim candidate in Assam, where the community constitutes more than 34 percent of the state\u2019s population.<\/p>\n In the southern state of Kerala, parties opposed to the BJP are set to win. Power in Kerala has traditionally alternated between alliances led by the Indian National Congress and the communist parties.<\/p>\n Modi\u2019s party has struggled to gain ground in the state, but has invested heavily to expand its presence.<\/p>\n In Puducherry, a small federal territory, the BJP is relying on a coalition with a regional party to strengthen its position.<\/p>\n The most keenly watched \u2013 and also the most contentious \u2013 of the upcoming electoral contests is West Bengal, where the regional Trinamool Congress party has been in power for three consecutive terms.<\/p>\n Modi\u2019s party has never governed West Bengal, but says it wants to win to curb \u2013 like Assam \u2013 the \u201c\u2060illegal\u201d immigration from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.<\/p>\n Allegations of irregularities in a controversial revision of electoral rolls have also intensified the political tensions in West Bengal.<\/p>\n Millions of voters \u2013 most of them Muslims \u2013 have been deleted from voter rolls during the exercise, called the Special Intensive Revision. Opposition parties and Muslim groups say the exercise particularly targets the minority Muslim voters.<\/p>\n Similar allegations were also made in other Indian states that recently went to the polls. The Election Commission of India has denied the allegations, saying the exercise eliminated dead, duplicate and fake voters from the electoral roll.<\/p>\n In the southern Tamil Nadu state, a coalition that includes the BJP is expected to mount a close challenge \u2060against a ruling regional party, Vote Vibe said.<\/p>\n The outcome of elections this month could show whether Modi\u2019s party can extend its dominance by making inroads into opposition strongholds. A strong showing would also bolster his federal government, as the 2024 national election forced the BJP to rely on regional allies to form the government.<\/p>\n The elections are also crucial for the opposition parties seeking to build a sustained challenge to the BJP\u2019s dominance across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Voting also held in the federal territory of \u200bPuducherry, while West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will vote later this month. By Anadolu, AP and Reuters Published On 9 Apr 20269 Apr 2026 Millions of \u200cIndians have voted in local elections in two states and a federally-governed territory, kicking \u2060off five key \u2060contests scheduled this month […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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