Election Commission press release · 27 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

General Elections and bye-elections 2026: 1,955 candidates in the electoral fray

PRID2246358 MinistryElection Commission Released27 March 2026 Reading7 min

Posted On: 27 MAR 2026 11:31PM by PIB Delhi Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 6 states on March 15,2026. The last date of filing of nominations for the States of Assam and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry and bye elections in 4 states which go to polls on April 9, 2026 was March 23, 2026, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations was March 26, 2026, by 3:00 PM. A total of 250 candidates withdrew their nominations, accordingly, the details of the total number of contesting candidates are as follows: Sl. No. Name of State/UT No. of ACs Total No. of Candidates after Withdrawals General Elections 1. Assam 126 722 2. Kerala 140 890 3. Puducherry 30 294 TOTAL 296 1,906 Bye-elections 1. Goa 1 3 2. Karnataka 2 34 3. Nagaland 1 6 4. Tripura 1 6 TOTAL 5 49 The Returning Officers (ROs) shall publish the list of contesting candidates in the Official Gazette as per the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. ROs shall place all the election papers and proceedings relating to nominations, scrutiny and withdrawal of candidatures in each constituency together in his/her custody in a sealed packet/envelope with the seal. Moreover, in line with ECI’s initiative, the EVM Ballot papers will bear the coloured photographs of the candidates and their details including serial number, name and symbol in large font for the ease and convenience of the voters. ********** PK/GDH/RP (Release ID: 2246358) Visitor Counter : 7435 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी , Bengali Election Commission General Elections and bye-elections 2026: 1,955 candidates in the electoral fray Posted On: 27 MAR 2026 11:31PM by PIB Delhi Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 6 states on March 15,2026. The last date of filing of nominations for the States of Assam and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry and bye elections in 4 states which go to polls on April 9, 2026 was March 23, 2026, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations was March 26, 2026, by 3:00 PM. A total of 250 candidates withdrew their nominations, accordingly, the details of the total number of contesting candidates are as follows: Sl. No. Name of State/UT No. of ACs Total No. of Candidates after Withdrawals General Elections 1. Assam 126 722 2. Kerala 140 890 3. Puducherry 30 294 TOTAL 296 1,906 Bye-elections 1. Goa 1 3 2. Karnataka 2 34 3. Nagaland 1 6 4. Tripura 1 6 TOTAL 5 49 The Returning Officers (ROs) shall publish the list of contesting candidates in the Official Gazette as per the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. ROs shall place all the election papers and proceedings relating to nominations, scrutiny and withdrawal of candidatures in each constituency together in his/her custody in a sealed packet/envelope with the seal. Moreover, in line with ECI’s initiative, the EVM Ballot papers will bear the coloured photographs of the candidates and their details including serial number, name and symbol in large font for the ease and convenience of the voters. ********** PK/GDH/RP (Release ID: 2246358) Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 6 states on March 15,2026.</li>   <li style="text-align:justify">The last date of filing of nominations for the States of Assam and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry and bye elections in 4 states which go to polls on April 9, 2026 was March 23, 2026, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations was March 26, 2026, by 3:00 PM.</li>   <li style="text-align:justify">A total of 250 candidates withdrew their nominations, accordingly, the details of the total number of contesting candidates are as follows:</li>   <table align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:31.3pt"> Sl. No. </td> <td style="width:176.55pt"> Name of State/UT </td> <td style="width:73.65pt"> No. of ACs </td> <td style="width:118.8pt"> Total No. of Candidates after Withdrawals </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4" style="background-color:#bebebe; width:400.3pt"> General Elections </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:31.3pt"> 1. </td> <td style="width:176.55pt"> Assam </td> <td style="width:73.65pt"> 126 </td> <td style="width:118.8pt"> 722 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:31.3pt"> 2. </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:176.55pt"> Kerala </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:73.65pt"> 140 </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:118.8pt"> 890 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:31.3pt"> 3. </td> <td style="width:176.55pt"> Puducherry </td> <td style="width:73.65pt"> 30 </td> <td style="width:118.8pt"> 294 </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="background-color:#bebebe; width:207.85pt"> TOTAL </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:73.65pt"> 296 </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:118.8pt"> 1,906 </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4" style="width:400.3pt"> Bye-elections </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:31.3pt"> 1. </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:176.55pt"> Goa </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:73.65pt"> 1 </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:118.8pt"> 3 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:31.3pt"> 2. </td> <td style="width:176.55pt"> Karnataka </td> <td style="width:73.65pt"> 2 </td> <td style="width:118.8pt"> 34 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:31.3pt"> 3. </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:176.55pt"> Nagaland </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:73.65pt"> 1 </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:118.8pt"> 6 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:31.3pt"> 4. </td> <td style="width:176.55pt"> Tripura </td> <td style="width:73.65pt"> 1 </td> <td style="width:118.8pt"> 6 </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="background-color:#bebebe; width:207.85pt"> TOTAL </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:73.65pt"> 5 </td> <td style="background-color:#bebebe; width:118.8pt"> 49 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>   <li style="text-align:justify">The Returning Officers (ROs) shall publish the list of contesting candidates in the Official Gazette as per the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.</li>   <li style="text-align:justify">ROs shall place all the election papers and proceedings relating to nominations, scrutiny and withdrawal of candidatures in each constituency together in his/her custody in a sealed packet/envelope with the seal.</li>   <li style="text-align:justify">Moreover, in line with ECI’s initiative, the EVM Ballot papers will bear the coloured photographs of the candidates and their details including serial number, name and symbol in large font for the ease and convenience of the voters.</li> ********** PK/GDH/RP " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); 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General Elections and bye-elections 2026: 1,955 candidates in the electoral fray

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