Election Commission Announces 2026 Assembly Poll Dates and Defends Electoral Roll Revision

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced the 2026 Assembly election schedule for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry, highlighting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a crucial democratic exercise. He emphasized that pure electoral rolls are essential to democracy, aiming to include all eligible voters and exclude ineligible ones, and praised election officials for their role. The announcement comes amid controversy in West Bengal, where voting is scheduled in two phases.