Voting is underway in the second and final phase of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections today, covering 142 constituencies across seven districts, setting up a decisive contest between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The polling began at 7:00am IST and will continue until 6:00pm under tight security arrangements to ensure a peaceful voting process. However, it has already been marked by allegations of electoral malpractice from both sides, reports The Statesman.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged that attempts were being made to rig the polls and claimed that party workers were attacked overnight. She also urged that voting be conducted peacefully, it said.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate from Shibpur, Rudranil Ghosh, alleged that efforts were underway to suppress voter turnout and claimed that BJP workers were being threatened.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, during a visit to Bhabanipur, interacted with voters and said that Mamata Banerjee had “already lost,” expressing confidence in the outcome of the election.
Some polling booths also reported intermittent EVM malfunctions, though voting continued after technical issues were promptly addressed.
More than 3.2 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in this decisive phase, which will determine the fate of 1,448 candidates, including 220 women contestants.
People of West Bengal, an eastern Indian state that shares a 2,216.7 km land border with Bangladesh, will have to wait until May 4 for the counting, when it will be revealed whether TMC’s symbol Jora Ghas Phul (two flowers with grass) or BJP’s emblem the Lotus blossoms.
The contest is also a high-stakes prestige fight between Mamata and opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, once her closest aide in TMC. Suvendu defeated Mamata in Nandigram in 2021 by about 1,900 votes.
A total of 41,001 polling stations have been set up across the seven districts. Of these, 8,845 are being run by women polling personnel, while 13 stations are being managed by specially-abled staff, reflecting efforts toward inclusivity in election management.
A total of 4,388 booths have also been identified as highly sensitive, where enhanced security measures, including additional personnel and surveillance systems, have been deployed.
The Election Commission has also made provisions to ensure maximum voter participation. Voters who do not carry their voter ID cards are allowed to cast their ballots by presenting any one of 12 alternative identification documents.
These include Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, driving licences, passports, pension documents with photographs, and bank or post office passbooks with photographs.
In the first phase, on April 23, voting was held in 152 of 294 constituencies across 16 districts, recording 93 percent turnout, one of the highest figures in the state’s recent election history.
