West Bengal Elections: West Bengal's election season concludes today. Voting is underway across 142 constituencies in the second and final phase, with 1,448 candidates on the ballot, among them Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is fighting for a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress and, more immediately, for her own seat in Bhabanipur.

Her opponent there is BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, who is also contesting simultaneously from Nandigram, the seat he won by defeating Mamata in 2021. The two contests make today's phase the most personal and high-stakes chapter of the entire election cycle.

Polling is being conducted across eight districts of South Bengal, spread across 41,001 polling stations.

Security on full alert

The Election Commission has deployed close to 2,400 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces across the state for the second phase. Special Electoral Roll Observer Subrata Gupta described the preparation as comprehensive.

"The final preparation is good. We are prepared to host phase two of the elections tomorrow in 41,001 polling stations across eight districts in South Bengal. Almost 2,400 companies of CAPF are being deployed to maintain peace and law and order and also to ensure the security of the voters. We are prepared for the worst. While we believe that the planning which has gone into phase two will bear fruit in the form of a peaceful second phase, we are prepared to face any law and order issue," Gupta said.

A row before the votes were cast

The day's tensions began even before polling opened. A search operation by the CRPF in Falta constituency, led by IPS Ajay Pal Sharma, the election observer for South 24 Parganas, triggered a sharp reaction from TMC supporters, who gathered outside the office of party candidate Jahangir Khan and raised slogans against the security personnel.

Senior TMC leaders and state ministers accused Sharma, a UP-cadre IPS officer with a reputation as an encounter specialist, of overstepping his mandate and intimidating party workers. The Election Commission has not responded publicly to the allegations.

Separately, the CRPF conducted a route march in Bhabanipur on Tuesday ahead of today's polling.

What the 2021 result means for today

The last Bengal assembly elections were held in 2021 across eight phases, spanning March 27 to April 29, with a turnout of nearly 85%, a remarkable figure given that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was cresting across the country at the time. The TMC won 215 seats; the BJP secured 77. Congress and the CPIM failed to win a single seat between them.

The BJP enters today's phase looking to improve on that tally. The TMC, having already won 152 seats in the first phase, is within reach of a majority, but Mamata's personal contest in Bhabanipur and the party's performance in South Bengal's competitive districts will shape the final count and the political narrative that follows.

Published on: Apr 29, 2026 8:08 AM IST