Voting is under way in two Indian states and one union territory as assembly elections get under way. Polling in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry opened at 07:00 local time and runs until 17:00. Results for these contests, along with outcomes from West Bengal and Tamil Nadu that vote later this month, are scheduled for May 4.
What’s at stake
– Assam: Roughly 25 million voters will choose a 126-member assembly. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a third straight term and faces the Indian National Congress. The campaign has been overshadowed by controversy over a 2023 redrawing of constituency boundaries that critics say disadvantaged minority communities.
– Kerala: About 27 million voters will elect a 140-member assembly in a three-way fight between the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF), a BJP-led alliance and a Congress-led alliance. The BJP has never won a state election in Kerala.
– Puducherry: Nearly 944,000 voters will decide 30 assembly seats in the union territory, currently governed by a BJP-backed coalition.
Key national and international issues shaping the polls
– Energy and household supplies: The war in the Middle East has tightened oil and gas flows, pushing up energy costs and contributing to India’s most severe LPG (cooking gas) shortages in decades. The government has used special powers to ration supplies to ensure households receive cooking gas.
– Shipping and Iranian cargo: Reuters reported that India has granted case-by-case waivers to allow some vessels carrying Iranian cargo into Indian ports, including some ships older than typical limits or under US sanctions. Officials say waivers were applied where safety standards were met; examples cited include an older LPG tanker docking at Mangalore and a crude tanker allowed to unload.
– Diplomatic and trade moves: Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was due in the United Arab Emirates to deepen ties with a major trading partner and host of many Indian expatriates. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited Qatar on a two-day trip as Gulf tensions threaten energy supplies; Qatar is a key supplier of LPG to India.
– Economic outlook: The World Bank said India is likely to remain among the fastest-growing major economies despite the Middle East conflict, pointing to strong macroeconomic buffers such as sizable foreign reserves and a resilient financial sector. The World Bank projected about 6.6% growth and retail inflation near 4.9% for the coming year; the Reserve Bank of India has projected around 6.9% growth and retail inflation at roughly 4.6%. The rupee has weakened and was reported as one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies amid external pressures. The World Bank cautioned that a prolonged conflict could raise inflation and fiscal risks because of India’s dependence on Gulf energy imports and remittances.
– Fertilizer subsidies: To protect farmers from rising input costs tied to global supply shocks, the government raised fertilizer subsidies by roughly 11% year-on-year and updated Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates to keep fertilizers affordable. Fertilizer availability has been hit by disruptions in the Gulf, affecting both exports and key inputs like ammonia and urea.
– Domestic politics and law-and-order promises: Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in West Bengal promising actions on corruption, reopening probes into sexual-assault cases, expelling illegal immigrants and protecting public servants and teachers if voters back the BJP. He outlined guarantees aimed at restoring confidence in the rule of law and holding those responsible for corruption and other crimes to account. West Bengal, governed by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress since 2011, remains a high-stakes battleground.
– High-profile criminal case impact: The prime minister referenced a widely publicised rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata in 2024 while pledging investigations. The victim’s mother is contesting elections as a BJP candidate and has blamed local leadership for law-and-order failures.
– Bangladesh extradition demand: Bangladesh’s new government has reportedly renewed calls for the extradition of a former leader, with reports saying that the individual was sentenced in absentia by a domestic tribunal in Dhaka; some accounts say the person is living in exile in India. The issue was raised by Bangladesh’s foreign minister during an official visit to New Delhi and has strained bilateral ties, pushing Dhaka closer to China in recent months.
News coverage
DW’s live coverage has followed these developments alongside election dispatches, reporting on weather-related disruptions in parts of the country and the wider impact of the Middle East conflict on Indian politics, trade and everyday life. Observers will be watching turnout, campaign narratives and the economic fallout from global tensions as results approach.