The Election Commission on Monday announced the schedule for by-elections to five Assembly and one Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam. Voting will be held on October 6 and counting of votes on October 9. According to the commission, the gazette notification regarding the selection will be issued on September 9. The last date for filing nomination papers will be September 16.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on September 17, while candidates can withdraw their names till September 19. Voting will take place on Tuesday, October 6 and the counting of votes on Friday, October 9. The entire election process will be completed by October 11. By-elections will be held on Maduraanthakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC) assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.
Voting will be held in Puducherry's Thatan Chawri Assembly seat. West Bengal will hold by-elections for the Rijinagar and Nandigram assembly seats. Meanwhile, the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam will be voted on. All these seats have fallen vacant due to the resignation of elected representatives. The Maduraanthakam seat fell vacant after the resignation of Margatham Kumaravel, while the Dharapuram seat fell vacant after the resignation of P. Satyabhama. The Thatan Chawri seat in Puducherry fell vacant after the resignation of N. Ranga Swamy. The Rijinagar and Nandigram seats in West Bengal fell vacant following the resignations of Humayun Kabir and Shibhindu Adhikari respectively. Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the resignation of Pardevot Borduloi.
The commission said that the election code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the districts where these constituencies fall in whole or in part. This shall be subject to the instructions in force in respect of by-elections. The Election Commission said that all necessary steps will be taken to ensure free, fair and credible voting. Emphasizing the importance of a clean and updated voter list, the commission said it "considers a clean and updated voter list to be the cornerstone of free, fair and credible elections." The voter lists of all the six constituencies have already been finally published after revision. The final voter list for Maduraanthakam and Dharapuram seats in Tamil Nadu was published on 23 February 2026. The voter list of Puducherry's Thatan Chawri seat was published on February 14. The final voter list of Rijinagar and Nandigram in West Bengal was published on February 28, while the final voter list of Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha seat was published on February 10.
The by-elections in four states and one union territory are likely to increase political activity. Different parties will try to strengthen their position in the respective constituencies. West Bengal's Nandigram seat will be particularly eye-catching, as it has been a hotbed of recent electoral politics in the state. The election process will officially begin on September 9 with the release of a gazette notification.
This will be followed by the process of nomination, verification of nomination papers and withdrawal of names. Voters will cast their ballots on October 6 and the results of all six seats will be announced after counting of votes on October 9. The commission has directed to complete the entire by-election process by October 11.