Bengal Assembly Elections 2026: 18.39 percent voting till 9 am in the second phase, East Bardhaman and Hooghly at the forefront

Phase 2 Voting Turnout: Voting process is going on for 142 assembly seats of Bengal from 7 am. Long queues of voters at polling booths since morning have now started translating into huge vote percentage. More than 18% voting has been recorded in the first two hours.

According to the recent data of the Election Commission, more than 18 percent voting has been recorded till 9 am in the second phase. The people of Bengal had made it clear by forming long queues even before the voting started that the voting percentage was going to remain the same as in the first phase.

How much voting in which districts in Bengal?

The highest turnout of 20.86 percent was recorded in Purba Bardhaman district, while Hooghly recorded 20.16 percent voting. Despite EVM malfunction, 18.50 percent voting took place in Nadia. North 24 Parganas recorded 17.81 percent voting. Along with this, 17.76 percent votes have been cast so far in Howrah, 17.28 percent in Kolkata North and 16.81 percent in Kolkata South. 17.25 percent voting has been recorded in South 24 Parganas.

How different is the second phase of elections?

The elections being held in Bengal were divided into two phases. There are 152 seats in the first phase and 142 seats in the second phase. BJP has more dominance in the first phase of seats in the 2021 elections. Whereas in the second phase, there are those seats where Mamata Banerjee’s party is said to be dominant. Apart from the state capital Kolkata, the six other districts where these 142 assembly seats are spread include Nadia, East Burdwan, Hooghly, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts. All these seats are the strong seats of Mamata Banerjee where BJP may have to fight a big battle. These high-profile seats also include Bhawanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting from Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. He is also contesting from Nandigram, from where he is the outgoing BJP MLA.

Also read: Mamata Banerjee sits on strike in Bhawanipur, political uproar amid second phase of voting! watch video

1,448 candidates in the fray, 220 women

Let us tell you that a total of 1,448 candidates are in the fray for 142 assembly seats. In this, the number of male candidates is 1,228, while the number of female candidates is only 220. Maximum 15 candidates are trying their luck in Bhangar of South 24 Parganas. Hooghly district has the least number of 5 candidates nominated. According to Election Commission records, the total number of registered voters in the second phase is 32,173,837. This is approximately 64 percent of the total population of 50,013,786 of all these assembly seats. Of the 32,173,837 registered voters, there are 16,435,627 male voters, 15,737,418 female voters and 792 third gender voters.

With IANS inputs