Polity & Governance 2026

1. State Assembly Elections 2026

In April 2026, four states and one Union Territory elected new assemblies: Assam, Kerala (now Keralam), Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry. This lesson gives the schedule and the results as declared by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Note: this course covers events up to October 2026 and is updated as the year goes on.

The schedule

• The ECI announced the poll dates on 15 March 2026.
• Assam, Kerala and Puducherry voted in a single phase on 9 April 2026.
• Tamil Nadu voted in a single phase on 23 April 2026.
• West Bengal voted in two phases, on 23 April and 29 April 2026.
• Votes for all five were counted on 4 May 2026.

Results: West Bengal and Tamil Nadu

• West Bengal (294 seats): the BJP won a majority with 208 seats; the TMC won 80. It is the first BJP government in the state.
• Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) was sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal on 9 May 2026, replacing Mamata Banerjee (TMC).
• Tamil Nadu (234 seats): Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), founded by actor Vijay, became the single largest party with 108 seats in its first assembly election (majority mark 118); the DMK won 59 and the AIADMK 47.
• C. Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 May 2026. The Congress left the DMK-led alliance to join the government, and some other parties of that alliance gave outside support.

Results: Kerala, Assam and Puducherry

• Kerala (140 seats): the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 102 seats, ending ten years of LDF rule. The Congress alone won 63 seats.
• V. D. Satheesan (Congress) was sworn in as Chief Minister on 18 May 2026.
• Assam (126 seats): the BJP-led NDA kept power with 102 seats; the BJP alone won 82. Himanta Biswa Sarma took oath for a second term on 12 May 2026.
• Puducherry (30 elected seats): the AINRC-led NDA kept power with 18 seats. N. Rangasamy took oath on 13 May 2026 for his fifth term as Chief Minister.

Other changes of Chief Minister in 2026

• Bihar: Nitish Kumar, who had announced in March that he would move to the Rajya Sabha, resigned as Chief Minister on 14 April 2026.
• Samrat Choudhary took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar on 15 April 2026, the first Chief Minister from the BJP in Bihar.
• Maharashtra: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash at Baramati on 28 January 2026. Sunetra Pawar was sworn in on 31 January 2026 as Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
• Karnataka: Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister on 28 May 2026; D. K. Shivakumar took oath on 3 June 2026, with G. Parameshwara as Deputy Chief Minister. Sudha Yadav became Governor of Karnataka on 16 October 2026.

💡 Make a small table: State, seats, winning party or alliance, Chief Minister, oath date. Exams often ask 'Who became CM of ...' or 'Which party formed its first government in ...'.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. Parliament, Laws and Rules in 2026

2026 saw a state renamed by Parliament, a constitutional amendment bill that failed, and new rules for AI-generated content online. These are favourite topics for polity questions.

Kerala becomes Keralam

• The Kerala Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution on 24 June 2024 asking for the name 'Keralam'. The Union Cabinet approved it on 24 February 2026.
• Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026: Lok Sabha on 11 August and Rajya Sabha on 12 August 2026.
• The law was made under Article 3 of the Constitution, which lets Parliament change the name of a state. It changes the First Schedule.
• After the President's assent, the Centre notified the new name. 'Keralam' became official from 25 August 2026.

A constitutional amendment that failed

• The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was meant to bring in one-third (33%) reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies sooner.
• On 17 April 2026 the Lok Sabha voted 298 in favour and 230 against. A constitutional amendment under Article 368 needs a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting), so the Bill was defeated.
• The linked Delimitation Bill, 2026, which proposed raising the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 seats, also did not go through.
• Rajya Sabha biennial elections were held for 37 seats in 10 states on 16 March 2026.

IT Rules amendment on AI content (February 2026)

• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) notified amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 on 10 February 2026; they came into force on 20 February 2026.
• They define 'synthetically generated information': audio, image or video created or changed by computer so that it looks real (for example, deepfakes).
• Such content must be clearly labelled and carry permanent metadata or markers that platforms must not let users remove.
• Platforms must act on government or court takedown orders within 3 hours, down from 36 hours.
• Significant social media intermediaries (more than 50 lakh users in India) must ask users to declare AI-generated content and verify it.

Data protection: DPDP Rules

• The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules were notified in November 2025 under the DPDP Act, 2023.
• They are being applied in phases over 18 months: Data Protection Board provisions first, full duties for companies by about May 2027.
• 2026 is the transition year, so businesses are preparing consent notices, security safeguards and breach reporting.

💡 Link each law to its Article: renaming a state is Article 3; amending the Constitution is Article 368. Exams like to test this link.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Census 2027, Courts and Key Appointments

The field work for India's next Census began in 2026, the Supreme Court gave several important rulings, and the armed forces got new top leaders. This lesson collects these governance facts.

Census 2027: first phase in 2026

• Census 2027 is India's 16th Census and the first since 2011. It is the first fully digital Census, with data collected on mobile apps.
• Phase 1, House Listing and Housing Census, began on 1 April 2026. Each state and UT has a 30-day window, with a 15-day self-enumeration window before it.
• Self-enumeration (citizens filling details online themselves) is being offered for the first time.
• Phase 2, Population Enumeration, is due in 2027. The reference date is 1 March 2027 (1 October 2026 for snow-bound areas such as Ladakh).
• Caste will be counted in the Population Enumeration, for the first time since 1931.

Supreme Court in 2026

• Chief Justice of India: Justice Surya Kant (since 24 November 2025).
• 2026: the Court upheld the Election Commission's power to carry out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
• September 2026: it held that police must give the grounds of arrest in writing under Article 22(1); an arrest without them is illegal.
• September 2026: it held that financiers cannot repossess financed vehicles by force without due process, and asked the RBI to issue directions on this.

New leaders of the armed forces

• General N. S. Raja Subramani (retd.) took charge as the 3rd Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on 31 May 2026, succeeding General Anil Chauhan.
• Admiral Krishna Swaminathan became Chief of the Naval Staff on 31 May 2026, succeeding Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi.
• General Dhiraj Seth became Chief of the Army Staff on 30 June 2026, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi.

💡 For Census questions remember three 'firsts': first digital Census, first self-enumeration, and first caste count since 1931.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.