West Bengal Election 2026 Highlights: The first phase of the West Bengal assembly election, held on Thursday on 152 seats, recorded about 92 per cent voter turnout. This is the highest turnout in the state assembly election since Independence, according to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Voting started at 7 AM and concluded at 6 PM.
Bipolar Contest in Bengal
The election in West Bengal is largely considered a bipolar contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party.
Led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the TMC has been in power in the state since 2011, while the BJP emerged as its main challenger after winning 77 seats in the 2021 assembly elections. The Congress is largely out of the race in the state and is contesting alone after breaking its alliance with the Left Front in February.
The second phase of elections for the remaining seats in the 294-member Bengal house will be held on 29 April. The results will be declared on 4 May.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a poll rally in Nadia district, where voting will be held in the second phase on 29 April, as voting was underway in other regions of West Bengal in the first phase on Thursday.
Counting of votes for both phases will be held on 4 May, the day the results of the Assam, Kerala and Puducherry assembly polls will also be declared.
Modi ties his hand on photography
On Friday, Prime Minister Modi visited the banks of the Hooghly. He said he tried his hand at photographing this great river. “Also caught a close glimpse of the Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge,” he said.
What happened in 2021?
In the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, the incumbent Trinamool Congress won by a landslide, taking over 200 seats, despite opinion polls generally predicting a close race against the BJP, which became the official opposition with 77 seats.
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