April 23, 2026
Welcome to coverage from New Delhi. People in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are voting after heated campaigns and controversial voter roll changes.
West Bengal: By 11:00 a.m. local time turnout was 41.11%. The election is taking place amid a lengthy voter-roll revision that led to nearly a million deletions. Voting has been largely peaceful, though clashes were reported in Murshidabad. Phase 1 covers 152 constituencies; Phase 2 is scheduled for April 29.
Tamil Nadu: Polling began for 234 assembly seats. As of 9:00 a.m. the state recorded 17.69% turnout. About 57.3 million voters will choose among 4,023 candidates at over 75,000 polling stations. More than 1.46 million first-time voters are expected. Main contenders include the ruling DMK, opposition AIADMK, actor Vijay’s new TVK, and NTK.
Voting logistics and transport: Thousands traveling from cities to hometowns faced severe traffic and public-transport disruption, notably in Chennai. TVK leader Vijay urged the Election Commission to extend polling hours by two hours and to provide special bus services. The State Transport Corporation said it arranged roughly 2,000 special buses but passengers said this was inadequate; some staged protests at bus terminals.
Central government and policy notes:
– Fuel prices: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas denied reports of an imminent petrol and diesel price hike, saying no such proposal is under consideration after a market report suggested a steep post-election increase.
– Online gaming: New rules for the online gaming industry take effect May 1. They distinguish esports from real-money gaming, allow the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to classify games as Online Money Games, Online Social Games or esports, and require platforms to enforce age gates, time limits, grievance redressal and penalties for non-compliance.
– Education: The National Human Rights Commission ordered a pan-India audit within 30 days after complaints about private schools prescribing costly textbooks. Notices were issued to the Union Education Ministry, CBSE and all states and UTs; NCERT has been asked to explain its role within 15 days.
International developments:
– Iran publicly defended India and China after former US President Donald Trump reshared an anti-immigrant post calling them “hellholes,” with the Iranian consulate in Hyderabad criticizing Trump.
– Security at sea: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz, saying they had fired on three vessels and detained two for allegedly tampering with navigation systems. One seized ship, Epaminondas, was reportedly headed to Gujarat from Jebel Ali.
Thank you for reading — the live blog is closing for today.