Assembly Election 2026 Results LIVE: Cong-led UDF leading in over 85 seats in Kerala, close contest in Bengal

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.

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Mamata Banerjee is leading from the Bhawanipur constituency in early trends in West Bengal, with the seat emerging as one of the most closely watched in the State.

Early trends from Kerala point to a strong showing by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), raising the prospect of a political comeback in the State.

About 90 minutes into counting, the UDF is leading in 89 of the 140 seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is ahead in 44. The BJP-led NDA is leading in five constituencies, according to early trends from 139 seats.

The UDF has retained its edge in traditional strongholds such as Ernakulam and Malappuram, while also making inroads into seats currently held by the LDF in regions including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kozhikode and Palakkad.

Early trends from Tamil Nadu show the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leading in 28 seats, followed closely by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam with 26 seats, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is currently ahead in 12 constituencies, as counting continues and trends begin to firm up.

Sunny Joseph, chief of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, on Monday expressed confidence that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) will secure a decisive mandate in Kerala.

With the UDF leading in early trends after the first hour of counting, Joseph said the numbers indicate a clear shift in the alliance’s favour and predicted that it would go on to cross the 100-seat mark in the 140-member Assembly.

Early trends from Assam show the Indian National Congress leading in Mandia, Pakabetbari and Mangaldai as counting gathers pace.

About 90 minutes into the process, data from the Election Commission of India indicates that leads have been established in 38 of the State’s 126 constituencies. Congress is currently ahead in three of these seats, all located in Lower and Central Assam.

While still early in the day, the trends underline the challenge before the party, which is aiming for a comeback after a decade out of power and has been trying to regain ground in Upper Assam, where its presence in the Assembly has declined sharply in recent years.

Gaurav Gogoi of the Indian National Congress said the party will closely monitor the counting process across Assam as early trends begin to emerge. “This is just the beginning. We will see how the counting is going on in the entire State, and we will keep an eye on every vote being counted properly in every round,” he said. Gogoi, who is contesting from Jorhat, is currently trailing BJP’s Hitendra Nath Goswami, according to early data from the Election Commission of India.

Hours before counting began for the two-phase assembly elections in West Bengal on Monday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued a late-night message urging Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers to remain vigilant through the process.

In a social media post after 1 am, she called for heightened alertness, saying, “Stay alert. Be on guard. Stay awake at night. Register complaints.”

Banerjee alleged that her party had received reports of “planned” power cuts in several parts of the state, raising concerns over the security of strong rooms where EVMs are stored. She cited incidents from Sreerampore in Hooghly, Krishnanagar in Nadia, Aushgram in Purba Bardhaman, and the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in Kolkata, claiming that load-shedding was being carried out in phases.

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Ramesh Chennithala of the Indian National Congress is leading in the Haripad constituency in Kerala as the first round of counting progresses.

According to figures from the Election Commission of India at 9.20 am, Chennithala has polled 4,765 votes, ahead of T. T. Jismon of the Communist Party of India, who has secured 3,235 votes. BJP candidate Sandeep Vachaspathi is trailing with 1,899 votes.

Akhil Gogoi, president of the Raijor Dal and candidate from Sivasagar, expressed confidence that the Opposition alliance will secure a majority in Assam.

“I would like to hope that the Opposition parties will form the government. With 70-plus seats, we will form the government, and we will own the game,” he said.

Gogoi is contesting from Sivasagar, a seat he won in the previous Assembly elections while in prison during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The Opposition alliance comprises six parties, including the Indian National Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, Communist Party of India (Marxist), All Party Hill Leaders Conference and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation.

Gaurav Gogoi of the Indian National Congress is leading in the Jorhat Assembly constituency in Assam, according to early trends. He is up against BJP veteran and sitting MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami.

A three-time MP and currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gogoi was appointed president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee in 2025. He had also secured a win from the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general election, defeating BJP’s Topon Kumar Gogoi.

In the initial trends, there is a fluctuating contest in Bengal. The BJP is leading in 85 seats, while the Trinamool Congress is ahead in 72 seats.

Initial trends from Kerala show the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) taking an early lead as counting begins. According to early figures, put out by PTI the UDF is ahead in over 60 seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is leading in more than 50 constituencies.

These early trends are based on postal ballots, which account for about 1.36 per cent of the total votes polled, and are expected to shift as EVM counting gathers pace.

Tension briefly prevailed at a strongroom at the Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kalamassery after the key to the facility storing EVMs for the constituency went missing during the initial stages of counting on Monday morning.

The Hindu reported that With officials unable to locate the key, the strongroom was eventually broken open around 8.30 am to allow the process to continue. “Everything is going smoothly now,” an official said, indicating that counting had resumed without further disruption.

Kalamassery remains a closely watched seat in Kerala, with P. Rajeeve of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) seeking re-election against UDF candidate V E Abdul Gafoor and NDA’s M. P. Binu.

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.