Assembly Elections 2026 Live Updates: 'Are they trying to intimidate?', Mamata on heavy central force deployment for Bengal polls

Assembly Election 2026 Live Updates: Political parties will make a final push on Tuesday, the last day of campaigning in both Tamil Nadu and for the first phase of polling in West Bengal.All 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 of the 294 seats in West Bengal will vote on Thursday. The remaining 142 seats in West Bengal will go to polls on April 29.Counting of votes in both states will be held on May 4.In Tamil Nadu, the main contest is between the Secular Democratic Alliance led by the DMK and the National Democratic Alliance, led in the state by the AIADMK, the DMK’s arch-rival.The two Dravidian rivals have dominated Tamil Nadu politics since the 1960s and have been the only parties to govern the state since then. While Congress is the DMK’s largest alliance partner, the BJP is the AIADMK’s key ally.On the other hand, West Bengal will see a direct contest between the ruling TMC and the BJP. Led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, its supremo, the TMC has been in power in the state since 2011, while the BJP emerged as its main challenger after winning 77 seats in the 2021 assembly elections, its best-ever performance in the state.The Congress is largely out of the race and will contest alone, having broken its alliance with the Left Front in February.