16032026-TT-01.qxd 15-03-2026 23:58 Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 73 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI US-CHINA TALKS OPEN IN PARIS, PAVE WAY FOR XI-TRUMP SUMMIT WORLD /thetribunechd STATEHOOD PROTESTS PLANNED IN LEH, KARGIL TODAY J&K MANDHANA, GILL NAMED BEST INT’L CRICKETERS SPORT POLL SOP: MAMATA HIKES PUROHIT, MUEZZIN PERKS BY ~500 NATION monday | 16 march 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 2-phase polls in WB; Kerala, Assam vote on April 9, Tamil Nadu April 23 BJP tried to bribe MLAs: Hry Cong on poll eve; files plaint Bengal to see polling on April 23 & 29; Puducherry April 9 | Results to be out on May 4 Geetanjali Gayatri Animesh Singh ASSEMBLY POLL IN 4 STATES, 1 UT NewDelhi, March 15 The Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, while Assam, Kerala and the UT of Puducherry will vote in a single phase on April 9, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Sunday. The elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23. While Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will vote on April 9, Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. The model code of conduct came into effect immediately with the announcement of the poll schedule. The results for all four states and the sole UT would be declared on May 4, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, announced while addressing a press conference. The Assembly elections are being conducted in the shadow of the controversial special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The SIR in these states (except in MAP NOT TO SCALE Tribune News Service 17.4 CR VOTERS West Bengal Tamil Nadu Kerala Assam Puducherry Constituencies Polling stations Poll officials 6.4 cr 5.67 cr 2.7 cr 2.5 cr 9.44L 824 2.19L 25L ZERO TOLERANCE TOWARDS VIOLENCE No violence will be tolerated. We have zero tolerance towards this and strict action will be taken if any such cases are brought to the cognisance of the EC. ❝ PHASES CUT FROM EIGHT TO TWO IN BENGAL The schedule for Assembly elections in West Bengal has seen a drastic change. From eight phases in 2021, the elections will be wrapped up in only two phases this time. Sources in the Election Commission of India indicate concerns regarding poll violence were a major reason behind the move. Assam, where special revision was conducted) and in Puducherry was conducted between December 2025 and February 2026. Apart from this, Assembly bypolls for eight seats across six states will also take place next month. The results will also be declared on May 4. Bypolls in Maharashtra’s Baramati and Rahuri seats, as well as in Gujarat’s Umreth, will be held on April 23. The byelections in Goa’s Ponda, Tripura’s Dharmanagar, Nagaland’s Koridang, as well as in two seats of Kar- Gyanesh Kumar, CEC nataka — Bagalkot and Davangere South, will take place on April 9. All bypolls have been necessitated due to deaths of sitting MLAs. Baramati is the most significant Assembly seat which will go to the polls, after its MLA and NCP chief Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash on January 28. In West Bengal, the Assembly elections will be held in two phases whereas in 2021, these were conducted in eight phases. EC sources indicated that concerns regarding poll violence were a major reason behind the move. Sources, however, indicated that another reason was to mitigate the anger among West Bengal voters towards the SIR, in which 62 lakh electors’ names have been deleted, while another 60 lakh names have been kept under judicial adjudication. Of the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal, 152 seats will vote in the first phase on April 23, while the remaining 142 seats will vote on April 29. Significantly, most of the constituencies bordering Bangladesh, namely Murshidabad, Malda, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur, will go to the polls on April 23. Assam, where the Assembly elections were held in three phases in 2021, polling will be continued on page 10 Mercedes-Benz Expert Care, ready to meet you in Punjab. Seamless Mercedes-Benz service, closer than ever. RS ELECTION Clear Oppn mistrust in leaders: Badoli Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 15 A day before polling for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana, the Congress on Sunday alleged that “senior BJP leaders” had tried to bribe some of its MLAs to influence votes in the highstakes contest involving three candidates. The party claimed to have filed a complaint with the Himachal Pradesh police, where its MLAs are camping ahead of the election that has become a prestige battle between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress. Haryana Congress general secretary in-charge BK Hariprasad levelled the allegations, saying, “The BJP has tried to bribe some of our MLAs to cast their vote in its favour. Some key BJP leaders have spoken to our MLAs and are pressuring them. FIRs have been filed in Karnataka earlier for similar reasons. We have given our complaint to the Himachal police.” He, however, refused to divulge details and said, “We will let you know once the FIR has been filed.” Dismissing the charge, state WHAT’S WORRYING GRAND OLD PARTY ■ The BJP candidate appears to have smooth sailing, but the Congress must keep all 37 legislators united to avoid cross-voting ■ Past precedent worries the Congress as in 2016, invalid votes and two MLAs ‘backing’ the BJP tilted the Rajya Sabha poll ■ To avoid cross-voting or any sabotage, the Congress thus moved 31 of its 37 MLAs to Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli said, “None of our leaders have approached Congress MLAs. They only know each other from their interactions in the Vidhan Sabha. Such claims go on to show that the Congress lacks faith in its own MLAs and simply wants to blame the BJP .” The Shimla police, in a statement issued this evening, also said no such “bribery” complaint had been received so far. Congress leaders said the complaint was filed in Himachal as the alleged calls were received while the MLAs were camping in the IJM Star Amritsar Joshi Autozone Ludhiana Joshi Autozone Jalandhar Joshi Autozone Chandigarh IJM Star Chandigarh IJM Star Mohali PUNJAB Joshi Autozone IJM Star Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Mohali, Amritsar, Chandigarh Joshi Autozone - Chandigarh, Ludhiana & Jalandhar; Tel: 0-1725050000 IJM Star - Mohali, Chandigarh & Amritsar; Tel: 0-7307173071 Locate your nearest touchpoint. The map locations provided are for general informational purposes only and are intended to assist customers in locating Mercedes-Benz authorized Dealers. Actual store locations, hours of operation, and availability may vary without notice. Scan the QR for more information on Mercedes-Benz authorized Dealer locations. c m y b hill state ahead of polling. They have shifted base from Shimla to Kasauli and are expected to arrive in Chandigarh tomorrow morning, heading directly to Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Hooda’s residence. From there, they will proceed to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha where polling will take place. “All Congress MLAs are united and the nefarious designs of the BJP will be defeated in the Rajya Sabha poll. Top leaders of the ruling party tried to influence some of our MLAs and will now pay the price. The police will deal with them,” said Congress Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, who is accompanying the MLAs. Though both the BJP and the Congress have the required 31 MLAs each to send one MP each to the Rajya Sabha, given their strength in the 90-member House, the poll became necessary after the BJP’s vicepresident and building contractor Satish Nandal entered the fray as an Independent. The BJP has fielded former MP Sanjay Bhatia as its official candidate, while the Congress has nominated continued on page 10