Assembly Election 2026 Results LIVE: Close contest unfolds in Bengal & Kerala as counting begins

Counting of votes is under way across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry on Monday (May 4), as multiple high-stakes contests head towards their final verdict after weeks of intense campaigning.

The spotlight is firmly on West Bengal, where the battle for 293 seats has set up a keen contest between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. While the TMC is seeking to retain power, the BJP is aiming for a breakthrough in the State for the first time, even as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Indian National Congress look to regain relevance after their 2021 setback.

Further south, Tamil Nadu is also counting votes for its 234-seat Assembly after recording a robust 85.1% voter turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore ballots cast. The scale of the exercise is vast, with votes from over 75,000 polling stations being tallied across 62 counting centres under heavy security deployment. Kerala, too, is witnessing counting across 140 centres, following a turnout of 79.63%, with the outcome expected to decide whether the incumbent holds its ground or the Opposition stages a comeback.

In the Northeast, Assam’s 126 constituencies are being counted in what is shaping up to be a closely watched contest. The ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is eyeing a third straight term, while the Congress-led alliance under Gaurav Gogoi is pushing for a return to power after a decade, with both sides expressing confidence of crossing the halfway mark.

Counting began early in the day with postal ballots, after strongrooms housing electronic voting machines were opened in the presence of officials, observers and candidates’ representatives. The Election Commission of India has put in place stringent arrangements, including multi-layer security, central forces deployment and QR code-based access control at counting centres, ensuring a tightly monitored process as trends begin to emerge.

Congress candidate from Demow, Ajoy Kumar Gogoi, on Monday expressed optimism ahead of the results, saying he expects the verdict to reflect the aspirations of both voters and party workers.

“We hope the results will be in line with what the public and the party workers wanted. We hope a Congress government will be formed,” he said, voicing confidence in the party’s chances in Assam.