Puducherry Assembly elections 2026: Saree-clad robot ‘Nila’ welcomes voters at polling booth

PUDUCHERRY: A humanoid robot named ‘Nila’, dressed in a saree, greeted voters arriving at the VOC Government School polling station in Puducherry on Thursday, adding a technological touch to the ongoing Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Developed as an event-based interactive machine, the robot was deployed to welcome and assist voters as they came to exercise their franchise. Speaking about the innovation, Kaushik from Robo Mirror said the robot is designed for multiple public engagement settings.

“This robot has a name, Nila. This is an event-based robot — events like weddings, official work and elections. We are coming from Coimbatore. Nila robot has multiple features. It also has a voice feature, and it can talk on its own. We can feed in the command, and the voice will be audible to the person nearby. She is welcoming the voters here”, Kaushik said. The robot could be heard speaking both in English and Tamil and drew attention from voters.

#WATCH | Kaushik from Robo Mirror says, “This robot has a name, Nila. This is an event-based robot – events like weddings, official work and elections. We are coming from Coimbatore. Nila robot has multiple features…It also has a voice feature, and it can talk on its own. We… pic.twitter.com/hElyED1oUq

— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2026

Meanwhile, polling began across Puducherry, Keralam and Assam at 7 am, marking a crucial phase in the Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to participate actively in the democratic process.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister appealed for higher voter turnout, especially among youth and women. “As the Puducherry Assembly elections commence, I urge every voter to come out and participate in record numbers. I especially appeal to our youth and to women voters to strengthen the process of democracy. Every vote matters in shaping the future of Puducherry,” he said.

Puducherry has a total of 10,14,070 eligible voters, including 5,39,125 women, 4,74,788 men, and 157 third gender voters. Among them, 24,156 are first-time voters aged 18-19, while 6,034 are aged above 85. Voting will determine the composition of the 30-member Legislative Assembly, with results scheduled to be announced on May 4. (ANI)