Kolkata, 22 April. Preparations have been completed for the first phase of assembly elections in West Bengal. In this phase to be held on Thursday, about 3.6 crore voters will exercise their franchise at about 44,000 polling stations on 152 seats in 16 districts. This time the elections are being conducted in two phases whereas voting was held in eight phases in 2021 and six phases in 2016. Despite the reduced number of stages, unprecedented arrangements have been made for security and strict rules have been implemented.
Glimpses of the Dispersal Center of Jhargram District of West Bengal, the Polling personnel are collecting EVMs, materials and ready to move to their respective polling stations on P-1 day.#WBLA2026 #Jhargram #CEOWB #ECI pic.twitter.com/ApopJo3oS5
— District Election Officer, Jhargram (@DeoJhargram) April 22, 2026
Total 1478 candidates for 152 seats in 16 districts
The 16 districts where voting is to be held in the first phase include Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, West Bardhaman, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, West and East Midnapore. A total of 1,478 candidates are in the fray in this phase.
Direct contest between TMC and BJP
In the first phase, a direct contest is being considered between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on at least 80 seats. At the same time, multi-cornered contest can also be seen on some seats, where Left Front and Congress are in different fields.
Join us for the grand celebration of democracy
The Election Commission of India invites every voter in the Assembly Constituencies going to polls in #Phase1 of West Bengal to be a proud participant in the West Bengal Assembly Elections
Let’s make our votes count!… pic.twitter.com/zk9tUHotLb
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) April 22, 2026
More than 2.4 lakh security personnel deployed
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made tight security arrangements. About 2,407 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies, comprising more than 2.4 lakh personnel, have been deployed.
More than 7,000 sensitive booths
A total of 7,384 polling stations have been declared ‘very sensitive’ or ‘critical’ for the first phase of voting. Apart from this, quick reaction teams have also been deployed so that any emergency situation can be dealt with.
Special facilities for voters
Arrangements like Braille-enabled EVMs, ramps and priority queues have been made for the convenience of voters. Toll-free numbers and email IDs have also been issued for complaints.
Political conflict over voter list
The political controversy regarding Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list has also intensified. While Trinamool Congress has alleged that names of a particular community are being removed in this process, BJP has called it an action to remove fake voters. Actually, about 91 lakh names have been removed from the voter list, which include dead, transferred or duplicate names. The debate is also going on regarding new criteria like ‘logical discrepancy’.
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