New Delhi. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has criticized the Central government after the announcement of Padma Awards 2026. He alleged that in the selection process, priority has been given to people from those states where assembly elections are going to be held. Karti said the government has simplified the process of selecting Padma award winners as now it is enough to simply select people from the election states. Linking this to the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ model, he quipped that if elections were held simultaneously across the country, the process of giving awards would have become very complicated!’
Karti Chidambaram wrote on X, ‘If there was One Nation One Election, how complicated it would have become for the government to select Padma award winners! Now it is very easy, just elect people from the election states. The central government on Sunday announced a total of 131 civilian honors in the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri categories. The list includes many prominent personalities from public life, art, cinema, literature, sports and public works.
How many awards were given to which state?
Poll-bound states include states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where elections are due soon. He has been given a large number of awards. For example, 8 awards were given from Kerala, 13 from Tamil Nadu and 11 from West Bengal. Out of this year’s 5 Padma Vibhushan, 3 are from Kerala. Earlier, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor celebrated and congratulated the Malayali award winners on the occasion. He wrote that on the eve of Republic Day 2026, the Government of India has honored many prominent Malayalis for their outstanding contributions in various fields. He specifically mentioned the three Padma Vibhushan winners who are from Kerala.