India, April 10 -- Assembly elections in Assam and Puducherry produced record voter turnouts on Thursday while Kerala recorded its highest participation in nearly four decades, as all three went to the polls in a single phase - and a sharp reduction in electoral rolls may have amplified the headline percentages across all three.

Election Commission data till 11pm showed Assam turnout at 85.83% of its 25 million electors, Kerala at 78.27% of its 27.1 million and Puducherry at 89.87% of 950,311. All three improved substantially on their 2021 figures of 82.05%, 74.06% and 81.7% respectively. The previous bests were 84.64% in Assam in 2016, 79.9% in Kerala in 1987, and 85.7% in Puducherry in 2006 - meaning Assam and Puducherry set new record...