Campaigning concludes for first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections

PTI, April 21, 2026, Kolkata:  The high-pitched campaign for the first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections came to an end at 6 pm on Tuesday.

SIR of electoral rolls and people's dietary habits had been the focal point of the wranglings between the two prominent rivals -- the BJP and the TMC -- which also made wide-ranging promises to woo voters.

Voting in 152 constituencies across north Bengal and several districts in the southern part of the state is slated for April 23.

According to the Election Commission, over 3.60 crore electors are eligible to vote in this phase. Electors include around 1.84 crore male voters, 1.75 crore female voters and 465 third gender voters.

A record 2,450 companies of Central paramilitary forces that comprise nearly 2.5 lakh personnel have been deployed by the Election Commission for the West Bengal Assembly polls. The poll panel has stepped up security arrangements, identifying more than 8,000 polling stations as highly sensitive for the first phase.

High-pitched campaign for 152 seats in first phase of Bengal polls ends; voting on April 23

Gender voters. A record 2,450 companies of Central paramilitary forces that comprise nearly 2.5 lakh personnel have been deployed by the Election Commission for the West Bengal Assembly polls. The poll panel has stepped up security arrangements, identifying more than 8,000 polling stations as highly sensitive for the first phase.

The EC flagged a few districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Birbhum and Burdwan as particularly sensitive, placing all constituencies in these regions under strict surveillance. Central armed police forces have been deployed in strength, supported by surveillance teams and 2,193 quick response teams to respond swiftly to any incident.

The Trinamool Congress is seeking to come to power for the fourth straight term, while the BJP wants to unseat the Mamata Banerjee-led party in the state where the number of voters has reduced by around 91 lakh after the Special Intensive Review (SIR).

Key candidates in this phase include leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari (BJP, Nandigram), former Union minister Nisith Pramanik (BJP, Mathabhanga), state minister Udayan Guha (TMC, Dinhata), Goutam Deb (TMC, Siliguri), and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress, Baharampur).

In Nandigram, where Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari is taking on his former aide Prabitra Kar, who shifted to Trinamool Congress recently. Adhikari, who is also contesting from Bhabhanipur constituency against TMC chief Banerjee, had defeated the CM from Nandigram in the 2021 elections. The BJP-held Baharampur seat is also drawing attention, with senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury making a return to Assembly politics after over two decades.

Among the other star candidates contesting in the first phase of polling is former BJP Bengal president Dilip Ghosh against TMC’s Pradeep Sarkar in the Kharagpur Sadar seat in Paschim Medinipur district.

Other key seats in the first phase include Mekhliganj, Sitalkuchi, Darjeeling, Raiganj, Islampur, Balurghat, English Bazar and Jangipur.