The Supreme Court has lauded the record turnout and violence-free election process in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026. The court said that high voting percentage strengthens the democratic system and shows that voters are becoming aware of their rights.
The first phase of voting concluded on Thursday (April 23), in which 92.88 percent voting was recorded. This figure is the highest voting percentage in the state since independence. Earlier in the 2011 assembly elections, there was 84.72 percent voting. During the hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant said, “As a citizen of India, I am very happy to see the voting percentage. When people exercise their right to vote, it strengthens the democratic system.”
When senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee pointed out the high turnout, the Chief Justice remarked, “If people realize the power of their vote, they will not indulge in violence.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also described the voting as historic and said that barring some isolated incidents, the election was peaceful. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was part of the bench, said that the conflict may be between those in power, but its impact falls on the common people.
According to Election Commission data, this time women showed more participation than men. The percentage of female voters was 92.69, while the percentage of male voters was recorded at 90.92. The participation of voters of the third gender was 56.79 percent.
The Election Commission of India has attributed the increase in turnout to several voter-friendly measures, including better voter information slips, lower number of voters per booth and special assistance for the disabled.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to grant relief to some petitioners in a case related to Special Intensive Revision (SIR). These also included about 65 election duty officers, whose names were removed from the voter list. The court made it clear that they will not be able to vote in the current elections.
However, the court has allowed them to approach the Appellate Tribunal, which will hear cases related to deletion of names from the voter list. The court’s observations and data indicate that this time the election process in West Bengal is being conducted with wide participation and in a relatively peaceful environment, which is considered a positive sign for democracy.
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