In the aftermath of the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the State on Thursday witnessed a massive voter turnout in the first phase of the high-stakes Assembly elections amid sporadic incidents of violence, with both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party claiming the high voting percentage favouring them.
While Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is seeking a fourth consecutive term, the BJP has deployed its full strength to oust the TMC government.
As a total of 152 constituencies, covering 16 districts, went to polls in the first phase, Bengal recorded voter turnout of a massive 92.38 per cent. According to political analysts, the voting percentage was very high as the total number of voters shrank following the massive deletion of names from the electoral rolls after the SIR exercise. Moreover, eligible voters may have believed that voting in this election would help prove their citizenship later, as they may have feared that not voting this time could cause trouble for them in the future.
intense campaign
After an intense campaign season, 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, with a total electorate of over 3.60 crore, including nearly 1.75 crore women, went to the polls to decide the fate of over 1,450 candidates.
These districts saw exceptionally high voter turnout — ranging from 82.99 per cent in Kalimpong to 95 per cent in Dakshin Dinjapur — according to the latest data provided by the Election Commission of India.
“West Bengal’s voter turnout figure is very high for two reasons. First, the total number of electors shrank this time due to the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls after the SIR exercise. Second, after that deletion, eligible voters may have considered that voting in this election could help in certifying their citizenship later,” political analyst Subhamoy Maitra told businessline.
Significantly, Malda and Murshidabad, the two minority-dominated districts bordering Bangladesh, recorded a voter turnout of 93.02 per cent and 93.16 per cent, respectively. These two districts in South Bengal witnessed major resentment over the massive deletion of names under the SIR.
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.
Mamata Banerjee said that polling held so far in the first phase of the Assembly polls indicates the TMC is already in a position to win. “From my understanding of people’s mind, we are already in a position to win given the polling held so far today,” said Banerjee.
“I am not interested in any post, I don’t want the chair. I only want the end of BJP government in Delhi,” she added.
Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated the people of Bengal for their massive turnout in the first phase of Assembly elections, and said the vote figures so far are indicative of an “overwhelming mandate for change”. Addressing a poll rally in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, Modi asserted that violence during the Assembly polls remained at a minimum in 50 years.
“Violence was kept at a minimum in the last 50 years of poll history in Bengal. The information I have received so far makes me certain that this is going to be a mandate for a change,” he added.
Significantly, clashes broke out between supporters of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and the ruling TMC in Naoda area in Murshidabad district, prompting police and Central forces to resort to baton charge to disperse the mob. The violence was reported from Shibnagar village in the Naoda Assembly constituency during the first phase of the State Assembly polls.
Published on April 23, 2026