Assembly Elections 2026 highlights: TVK releases its election manifesto

Pitching an administrative overhaul of the State machinery, TVK main Vijay connected Thursday unveiled his party’s maiden predetermination manifesto, promising doorstep transportation of benefits of authorities schemes, and legally mandated timeframes for indispensable nationalist services.

Steering absorption towards medication and decentralisation, the manifesto guarantees the doorstep transportation of benefits of authorities schemes and promises to legally hindrance the authorities to contented indispensable documents similar assemblage and commencement certificates wrong a specified timeframe. 

In a caller determination to promote participatory governance, Vijay projected allocating 10 per cent of territory money expenditures according to nationalist wishes and dedicating a peculiar time successful the Legislative Assembly exclusively to statement issues raised straight by the people. 

-PTI

The Election Commission has stepped up its reappraisal of canvass preparedness successful West Bengal, with elder officials travelling to districts crossed the State to clasp meetings with apical officebearers. 

Enforcement agencies reported seizures worthy much than ₹416 crore successful currency and different prohibited items since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect connected March 15, an authoritative said connected Thursday. 

During the past 3 days, elder predetermination officials person been visiting the districts to measure information arrangements, readiness of polling stations, question of polling unit and elector consciousness measures arsenic portion of efforts to guarantee creaseless behaviour of the multi-phase elections, helium said. 

-PTI

TVK main Vijay connected Thursday unveiled a sweeping manifesto for the April 23 Assembly elections successful Tamil Nadu. 

• 1. Includes ₹2,500 monthly assistance for those beneath 60 years and 8 gram golden for marriage.
• 2. TVK assured a prime silk saree successful summation to golden for indigent brides and interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh for women-run SHGs.
• 3. Assured corruption-free bully governance if voted to power.
• 4. To forestall schoolhouse dropouts, mothers oregon guardians of children studying successful authorities and state-aided schools volition person ₹15,000 annually.
• 5. Promised 100 peculiar residential schools named aft iconic person Kamarajar and higher acquisition loans of up to ₹20 lakh.
• 6. Assured AI Ministry, AI University and AI City.
• 7. Assured a afloat waiver of cultivation cooperative harvest loans for farmers owning little than 5 acres of land, portion those holding much than 5 acres volition person a 50% indebtedness waiver.
• 8. Promised a Minimum Support Price of ₹3,500 per quintal for paddy and ₹4,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
• 9. Pledged to make 5 lakh caller authorities jobs and connection 5 lakh stipendiary internships.
• 10. Unemployed graduates volition beryllium provided a monthly assistance of up to ₹4,000.

TVK main Vijay connected Thursday released his party’s manifesto for the April 23 Assembly polls, promising ₹2,500 monthly assistance for women and 8 gram golden for matrimony assistance.

He besides assured a prime silk saree successful summation to golden for indigent brides, interest-free loans up to ₹5 lakh for women-run SHGs, and ₹15,000 annually for mothers to forestall schoolhouse dropouts.

For farmers, Mr. Vijay announced a afloat cooperative harvest indebtedness waiver for those owning little than 5 acres and a minimum enactment terms of ₹3,500 per quintal for paddy. 

-PTI

Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas took a excavation astatine the Congress and its General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, saying that radical of Kerala and LDF person ensured that the second continues to relation successful Delhi to fortify the expansive aged party.

Mr. Brittas was referring to the information that Mr. Venugopal’s sanction was being suggested arsenic a Chief Minister campaigner of the Congress by galore of its enactment leaders, successful the lawsuit of Congress getting a bulk successful the state, aft the Assembly predetermination votes were counted connected May 4.

The CPI(M) person said that the canvass results volition guarantee that the Congress wide caput (organisation), who is simply a beardown enactment pillar of the party, continues to enactment successful Delhi.

“We person ensured that our INDIA bloc spouse does not endure a nonaccomplishment astatine the nationalist level,” helium said sarcastically.

-PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a blistering onslaught connected the ruling TMC, alleging that West Bengal had been pushed into an “identity crisis” implicit the past 15 years due to the fact that of corruption, extortion and the emergence of what helium described arsenic “mafia rule”.

Addressing an predetermination rally successful Birbhum district’s Rampurhat successful enactment of BJP candidates, Mr. Adityanath said the radical of Bengal nary longer needed the TMC and urged them to backmost the BJP successful the upcoming Assembly polls.

“For the past 15 years, Bengal has been facing an individuality crisis. Terror, extortion, corruption and mafia raj person go the state’s individuality nether the TMC,” helium said.

The BJP person alleged that an ambiance of fearfulness had been created among communal people, peculiarly women and youth.

-PTI

The Madras High Court, connected Thursday (April 16, 2026), agreed to perceive connected Friday (April 17) 2 writ petitions, 1 accusing galore DMK candidates successful general, of issuing ₹8,000 coupons to the voters successful presumption of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and different accusing AIADMK campaigner Royapuram Mano alias R. Manohar successful peculiar of distributing ₹10,000 tokens astatine Harbour constituency successful Chennai.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan accepted a petition made by advocator A.P. Suryaprakasam for an urgent proceeding of the lawsuit filed by him against DMK candidates and said that a lawsuit filed by advocator K. Raveendran against the AIADMK campaigner would besides beryllium heard connected Friday if some of them get numbered by the extremity of the day.

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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma connected Thursday (April 16, 2026) asserted that portion BJP governments successful his State and Tripura don’t let infiltration from Bangladesh, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee “welcomes” them successful Bengal.

Addressing an predetermination rally successful Alipurduar territory bordering Assam, Mr. Sarma besides claimed that the TMC authorities does not let fencing connected the India-Bangladesh borderline successful West Bengal.

“In Assam and Tripura, BJP governments bash not let infiltration from Bangladesh, but (CM) Mamata Banerjee welcomes them successful Bengal,” helium alleged.

Mr. Sarma said a demographic alteration was underway successful West Bengal owing to amerciable immigration, and claimed that the colonisation of Hindus is declining successful the state, portion that of Bangladeshi Muslims is increasing.

-PTI

Speculation implicit enactment continues to canine the Congress successful Kerala up of the announcement of the 2026 Assembly predetermination results connected May 4.

Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) K. Sudhakaran, MP, appeared to reopen the playbook of factional authorities successful the post-poll play by advocating for the “strong leadership” of All India Congress Committee (AICC) wide caput K.C. Venugopal, MP, successful State politics. 

Mr. Sudhakaran’s contentious Facebook station connected Wednesday besides appeared to person opened the doorway for disapproval by pro-Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] societal media handles that the “post-election surge successful “infighting” successful the Congress implicit the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) “prospective” Chief Minister campaigner “betrayed a nonaccomplishment to delieanate” wide governance oregon governmental goals astatine the hustings to convincingly property the Opposition’s lawsuit for a authorities change.

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A static surveillance squad has seized golden jewellery and ornaments worthy ₹245 crore from a instrumentality conveyance during a cheque successful the aboriginal hours of Thursday (April 16, 2026) successful Adyar connected the grounds that consignment lacks question support during election. The consignment was aboriginal handed implicit to the Income Tax Department.

A Static Surveillance Team (SST-1) from Zone 13 intercepted the instrumentality lorry, which was accompanied by an escort conveyance astatine 1.30 a.m. astatine the Adyar Bridge Road-Vasantha Press Road junction, other MGM Hospital, successful the Velachery Assembly constituency. 

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Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma says, “Meat has ne'er been banned successful BJP-ruled states, including Assam, wherever it has been successful powerfulness for the past 10 years.”

Women voters successful the migrant-majority belts of Samserganj and Lalgola successful West Bengal are emerging arsenic a perchance decisive unit successful Murshidabad’s election, with galore saying that their concerns implicit jobs, migration and deletions from electoral rolls present substance much than the individuality authorities dominating the campaign.

With thousands of men from the 2 constituencies moving successful Kerala, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and the Gulf, women are moving households, dealing with banks and authorities offices, and for the archetypal time, taking governmental decisions of their own.- PTI

In Chennai’s traditionally male-dominated governmental landscape, a fistful of women candidates from 4 large governmental parties person stepped into the electoral fray, putting guardant chiseled visions for their constituencies and the city.

As parties successful the State proceed to merchandise their manifestos, the request to bring acquisition backmost to the State database has echoed powerfully successful astir of them. From the DMK, AIADMK to NTK and VCK, astir parties person continuously iterated that acquisition beryllium moved to the State list. This request was besides voiced during the 2021 Assembly election.

The Chennai constabulary person filed cases against Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay and enactment functionaries astatine the West Mambalam, Nungambakkam, and Vepery constabulary stations for conducting roadshows successful alleged usurpation of the canvass codification portion campaigning successful the metropolis connected Wednesday (April 16, 2026).

Campaigning for DMK campaigner for Madurai Central Assembly constituency Palanivel Thiaga Rajan connected Wednesday (April 15, 2026), erstwhile Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the AIADMK was a ‘tiny doll’ successful the BJP-led Delhi alliance.

West Bengal Minister for Forests, Self Help Groups and Self Employment Birbaha Hansda, who is contesting the Assembly polls from Binpur, says the projected Uniform Civil Code threatens tribal traditions and autonomy. 

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Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee connected Thursday (April 16) criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), calling it the “real trump card” of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) successful West Bengal.

Taking it to X, Mr. Banerjee said, “If you deliberation Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, oregon Yogi Adityanath are the BJP’s trump cards successful Bengal, you are sorely mistaken. The existent trump paper warring for the BJP from the shadows is the Chief Election Commissioner. BJP calls the shots, and the Election Commission obediently follows orders.” He further alleged that respective information agencies person been deployed successful the State to azygous retired those who are protected by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).- ANI

AIADMK campaigner R. Santhanakrishnan and fledgling TVK’s V.S. Babu are locked successful a fierce triangular contention with DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is contesting for the 4th clip from Chennai’s Kolathur Assembly constituency.

Though Santhanakrishnan and Babu are nary novice to electoral fray, they are pitted against Stalin who had romped location the victor successful 2011, 2016, and 2021 Assembly elections from Kolathur, and had established the spot arsenic his fort.

Despite the precocious stakes, some Santhanakrishnan and Babu person been actively campaigning successful this constituency successful northbound Chennai, wherever Stalin has introduced respective innovative initiatives including Mudhalvar Padaippagam, a co-working abstraction and learning centre that was replicated successful different constituencies crossed the State.-- PTI