Puducherry polls, all set: 9.5 lakh voters to decide fate of 294 candidates on Thursday

local cherries: The Union Territory of Puducherry will go to assembly polls on Thursday (April 9). Briefing reporters on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P Jawahar said the district’s electoral body expects a turnout of over 90 per cent in 2026. In the 2021 parliamentary elections, the region received 82.2% of the vote. He said about 8% of voters were removed from the 2026 election list after special intensive revision (SIR).Voting will begin at 7am. There are 294 candidates competing in 30 constituencies in Hong Kong. Puducherry has 23 constituencies, Kalikal has five constituencies and Mahe and Yanam have one constituency each.

There are 950,000 voters in the district, including 503,000 women, 446,000 men and 140 voters of the third gender. There are a total of 1,099 polling stations, including 30 all-female polling stations, 15 youth-managed polling stations, two polling stations managed by persons with disabilities, and two unique polling stations located in heritage buildings in Hong Kong.The All India National Congress (AINRC)-led NDA coalition government is seeking a second consecutive term. The alliance includes the BJP, AIADMK and LJK. AINRC is contesting on 16 seats, the BJP on 10 seats and the AIADMK and LJK on 2 seats each. The Congress-led Indian bloc is leaving no stone unturned to wrest power from the NDA. Congress is contesting 16 seats, including 13 from DMK and 1 from VCK.Jawahar said the election department has so far confiscated gold valuables, liquor and freebies worth Rs 84 crore, besides cash meant to attract voters. The department suspended nine government servants for their involvement in political activities and took disciplinary action against nine more government servants for their involvement in political activities. A delegation of nine officials from six countries including Kyrgyzstan, Côte d’Ivoire, Moldova, Mongolia, Guyana and Bhutan have arrived in Puducherry to observe the voting process at selected sites.He said the electoral body had launched the Meipporul 2.0 app to combat “fake news” and misinformation. He urged citizens to follow the mantra “think, verify and act”. The cybersecurity department has removed 113 misleading social media posts. He said the department had resolved 76 out of 84 complaints through the C-Vigil application within the 100-minute deadline.