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West Bengal Assembly election: 40% voter turnout recorded till 11:00am
29 Apr 2026

West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 39.97% till 11:00am on Wednesday in the second phase of its Assembly elections.

The Election Commission of India reported that Purba Bardhaman had the highest turnout at 44.50%, followed by Hooghly with 43.12%.

Kolkata North and South saw turnouts of 38.39% and 36.78%, respectively, while Nadia recorded a turnout of 40.34%.

Key details about the 2nd phase of polls
Election details

The second phase covers 142 out of the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal.

A total of 1,448 candidates are contesting these seats, including 220 women.

The electorate comprises approximately 3.21 crore voters: 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 transgender voters, who will cast their votes at over 41 thousand polling stations.

Main battle between TMC and BJP
Political landscape

The main battle is between the TMC, which has been in power since 2011, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP's strategy in this phase involves appealing to urban voters and Matua community members.

For the TMC, it's about securing a fourth term for Mamata Banerjee.

In the 2021 elections, the TMC had won 123 out of these 142 seats.

Election Commission's arrangements for free and fair polls
Security arrangements

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for free and fair polls. Over 8,000 polling stations are being managed entirely by women.

The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, said they are "more prepared for the second phase of elections compared to the first phase."

Almost 2,400 companies of CAPF have also been deployed to maintain peace and security.