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Record elector turnouts were seen successful assembly polls successful Assam, Kerala and Puducherry connected Thursday, with Election Commission officials describing it arsenic a "validation" of peculiar intensive revision and peculiar revision of electoral rolls and a motion of people's "unflinching spot successful the electoral process".
Polling surged past erstwhile peaks - reaching all-time highs of 91.2% successful Puducherry and 85.8% successful Assam, portion Kerala's 78.2% is the state's highest since 1987. Officials said last figures could emergence aft consolidation of reports. Puducherry surpassed its erstwhile precocious of 86.2% from 2011, portion Assam broke its 2016 grounds of 84.7% erstwhile BJP formed its archetypal govt, dethroning Congress aft its three-term unbroken run.
In Assam, turnout marked the highest since the archetypal elections successful 1951. Chief predetermination commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the polls were a "historic grounds not lone for India but for the full antiauthoritarian world", congratulating voters successful Assam and Puducherry. An EC authoritative said Thursday repeated the occurrence communicative of Bihar polls successful Nov 2025, signaling the state's highest turnout ever. The authoritative said removal of deceased, shifted, absent and duplicate voters reduced full rolls, lifting turnout percentages.
Another said door-to-door enumeration doubled arsenic a elector consciousness drive, boosting participation. "It made the electors alert of their voting right, starring to heightened enthusiasm," helium said. "Electors... person reposed full religion successful SIR, notwithstanding questions raised by absorption parties," different EC authoritative said, adding the workout validated some rotation accuracy and behaviour of elections. Kerala's electorate shrank by astir 9 lakh (3.2%), Puducherry's by 7.6% oregon 77,367 voters, and Assam saw nett deletions of astir 2.4 lakh, astir 1% of its draught electorate.
Muslim-majority seats saw spike successful Assam
In Assam, information surged unevenly. Muslim-majority constituencies led the spike, with Dalgaon successful Darrang territory signaling 94.5% turnout and 15 akin constituencies crossing 90%. Upper Assam's Hindu-majority loop logged astir 82%, beneath the authorities mean and somewhat little than 2021. Bodo areas averaged 85%, Barak vale 82.9%, portion elevation districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao recorded the lowest astatine 74.2%. Chief curate Himanta Biswa Sarma called the information "not mean but historic", and projected a sweeping mandate. "I deliberation we volition unafraid 90-plus seats (in 126-member assembly). Even if we interaction 100, determination is thing to beryllium amazed about," helium said. Assam's single-phase predetermination was marked by sporadic clashes successful aggregate constituencies which near astir 30 radical wounded and 7 arrested. In Kerala, voters turned retired contempt heat, pushing respective districts past 80%. Queues continued past authoritative closing time. Prominent politicians, including CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress's V D Satheesan, and BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar voted early. Film personalities specified arsenic Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Asif Ali besides formed ballots. In Thiruvananthapuram, first-time voters received halwa boxes and thank-you cards arsenic portion of outreach efforts.
