Knews Desk-Voting is going on today on 152 seats in 16 districts under the first phase of West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026. On one hand, while lakhs of voters are enthusiastically participating in this great festival of democracy, on the other hand, reports of violence are also coming out from some areas, due to which the election atmosphere has become tense. Suddenly violence broke out in Murshidabad during voting. Here anti-social elements threw country-made bombs, due to which many people were injured. After the incident, there was chaos in the area and the voting process was also affected for some time. Security forces immediately reached the spot and controlled the situation and additional forces have been deployed.
A large number of voters and candidates are in the fray.
A total of 1,478 candidates are trying their luck in this phase, while around 3 crore 60 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes. Long queues are being seen at many booths since morning, which shows the public’s enthusiasm towards democracy, although incidents of violence are trying to affect this enthusiasm.
More than 44 thousand booths, tight security arrangements
44,376 polling stations have been set up across the state, including about 3,000 auxiliary booths. 5,444 booths are being operated entirely by women, while 207 model booths are providing better facilities to the voters.
Also, 7,384 booths have been declared hypersensitive, where special security arrangements have been made. After the Murshidabad incident, surveillance has been increased in these sensitive areas. The main contest in the elections is between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. This phase is considered very important for both the parties. Amidst the incidents of violence, political allegations and counter-allegations have also intensified, due to which the election atmosphere has become more heated.
What next?
After the first phase, now the focus is on the second phase, which will take place next Wednesday. The Election Commission says that all necessary steps are being taken to conduct the voting peacefully and additional security has been deployed wherever violence has taken place.
The first phase of Bengal elections 2026 is presenting a picture of both democracy and tension. On one hand, people are voting enthusiastically, while on the other hand, incidents like Murshidabad are raising questions on the security arrangements.
Now it will be important to see how the administration deals with these challenges in the coming phases and makes the election process completely peaceful.
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