Under the tight vigil of the Election Commission, 152 constituencies, covering 16 districts, will go to the polls on Thursday in the first phase of the high-voltage Assembly elections in West Bengal. In the aftermath of the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State, over 3.60 crore voters, including nearly 1.75 crore women, will decide the fate of over 1450 candidates.
After an intense campaign season, led by the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP in Bengal, all constituencies in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinjapur and Malda districts in North Bengal, and Murshidabad, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram districts in South Bengal are hours away from going to the polls.
The Election Commission (EC) is keeping a tight watch on the movement of liquor, cash, narcotics, metals and freebies that could influence voters. The poll body has also banned the use of motorcycles in the State between 6 pm and 6 am two days before every phase of polling.
Due to the restrictions, people in several districts that are going to the polls on Thursday are facing trouble. “As there are strict restrictions on the movement of bikes, I am facing a huge problem in supplying food to different hotels where several people are staying in the Murshidabad Assembly constituency. I run a small restaurant,” 46-year-old Sandip Ghosh told businessline.
The Election Commission has asked district authorities to keep a strong vigil in areas with a high number of deletions of names in the last 72 hours before the first phase polling. Notably, minority-dominated districts of Murshidabad and Malda have seen major resentments over a massive deletion of names under the controversial SIR.
campaign issues
Apart from the SIR of electoral rolls, the controversial women’s reservation Bill, RG Kar hospital death-murder case, alleged corruption of the Trinamool Congress, jobs and women’s safety have emerged as key poll campaign issues in the constituencies. The BJP had won 59 of the 152 seats in 2021 Assembly elections against the Trinamool’s tally of 93.
BJP leader and the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Trinamool Supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram in the last Assembly elections, will be facing Pabitra Kar of TMC this time.
Significantly, the Election Commission on Wednesday cleared 139 voters to participate in the first phase of the polls after judicial tribunals disposed of 657 cases arising from disputes linked to the SIR. The voters, whose names have been newly included following tribunal orders, will be eligible to exercise their franchise in Thursday’s first phase of polling, in line with the Supreme Court’s direction permitting tribunal-cleared electors to vote up to two days before the scheduled date of polling.
The elections for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are scheduled to occur in two phases on April 23 and 29 with vote counting set for May 4.
Published on April 22, 2026