Puducherry [India], April 4 (ANI): The Election Commission has directed administrative and police officials in the Union Territory of Puducherry to ensure the conduct of free, fair, and fearless Assembly elections scheduled for April 9, 2026.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Puducherry, in a high-level review, emphasised that all officers engaged in election duty are deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and must discharge their duties with strict impartiality.

According to official data from the CEO of Puducherry, the final electoral roll published for the 2026 polls includes 9,48,977 electors. The voter demographics show a significant female presence with 5,03,076 women voters compared to 4,45,761 men, alongside 140 third-gender voters.

The current term of the 30-member Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory is set to expire on June 15.

In the 2021 Puducherry Assembly Elections, AINRC emerged as the largest party with 10 seats, followed by DMK with six seats, while BJP and Congress each won six seats.

The voter turnout was recorded at 84.8 per cent. While in the 2016 elections, Congress had secured a majority with 15 seats, AINRC won eight seats, AIADMK bagged four seats, and DMK got two seats, with voter turnout at 83.6 per cent.

As the date of polls draws near, top brass leadership from prominent parties have sharpened their campaign and attacks on the opposition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the opposition parties lack a clear vision for developing the Union Territory and are more focused on political control.

Sharing an X post, PM Modi alleged that the rival parties want to use Puducherry as an ATM.'While the NDA is working towards BEST Puducherry, the Opposition has no vision for Puducherry's progress. They want to use Puducherry as an ATM and ensure it is ruled by the High Command in Delhi instead of listening to the will of the people,' he wrote.

'A few days ago, I was interacting with the BJP booth workers of Puducherry. One of our Karyakartas put it very well when he said that the Opposition's agenda is to create a WEAK Puducherry,' he added.

Elaborating on the acronym, PM Modi said, 'By WEAK, he meant: W- Worst Governance; E- End of Development; A- Against People, K- Kill Economy.' (ANI)