Voting is underway on April 29 for the second and final phase of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, covering the remaining 142 seats across seven districts. The Election Commission has put in place extensive security arrangements to ensure a peaceful and fair polling process.
A total of 1,448 candidates are in the fray in this phase, including 220 women candidates. Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with webcasting facilities available at all polling stations.
The Bhabanipur constituency is the most closely watched seat in this phase, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari. The contest draws attention as Suvendu Adhikari had defeated Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram seat in the 2021 elections. Both leaders’ political standing is at stake in this contest.
Bhabanipur is often described as a “mini India” due to its diverse demographic composition. The constituency has traditionally been a bhold of the Trinamool Congress, but increased political activity by the Bharatiya Janata Party has intensified the contest.
The final phase has been classified as more sensitive compared to the first phase. Security agencies have been placed on alert to prevent any incidents of violence or disruption. Teams from the National Investigation Agency have also been deployed to detect and prevent potential conspiracies, including incidents such as crude bomb attacks.
More than 2,400 companies of central paramilitary forces, including the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force, have been deployed. Over 100 armoured vehicles have also been positioned to respond to any emergency. Security personnel were deployed at polling booths prior to the arrival of polling teams.
More than 32.2 million voters are eligible to cast their votes in this phase. A significant proportion of voters are in the 30–39 age group, with more than 7.3 million voters in this category. According to the Election Commission, some names had earlier been removed from the voter list, but following verification, 1,468 voters have been reinstated. However, approximately 3.4 million appeals remain pending, resulting in some voters being unable to participate in this phase.
The first phase recorded a voter turnout of 93.19 percent. Based on this, the Election Commission expects turnout in the second phase to exceed 90 percent.
