KOLKATA — Campaigning for the first phase of the West Bengal assembly election formally ended at 6 p.m. on Tuesday under Election Commission rules, with voting set for Thursday.
The first phase covers 152 seats in 16 districts in both northern and southern parts of the state. Voting will run without a break from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Political parties were busy through the final day. In Asansol South, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta led a road show in support of BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul. Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended an election meeting in Kulti in support of the BJP candidate Poddar. In Nandigram, BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari himself led last-minute outreach with party workers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took part in four campaign events.
The final day was marred by scattered incidents. In Dantan in West Medinipur, BJP candidate Ajit Kumar Jana was reportedly attacked, breaking his arm. He was admitted to Medinipur Medical College and Hospital. His vehicle and several motorcycles were vandalized and a number of party workers were injured. Trinamool-backed assailants were blamed.
In Murshidabad’s Nowda assembly seat, tensions also flared around campaigning by Humayun Kabir, the candidate for Aam Janata Unnayan Party. He accused police of obstructing his campaign, which led to a verbal clash with officers.
In Nandigram, police arrested a Trinamool leader, Habibul Rahman, known as Nantu, on charges of trying to influence voters. Rahman is the head of the Mohammadpur panchayat in Nandigram.
About 36 million voters will cast ballots in the first phase, including roughly 18.4 million men, 17.5 million women and 465 voters of the third gender.
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is contesting alongside the BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Indian Secular Front and the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, among others, but voters expect the main fight in most seats to be between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
The first phase will decide the fates of 1,478 candidates. Notable Trinamool candidates include North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha (Dinhata), Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia (Sabang), Labor Minister Maloy Ghatak (Asansol North), Asian Games gold medalist Swapna Barman (Rajganj) and former minister Gautam Deb (Siliguri).
Heavyweight BJP candidates include Suvendu Adhikari (Nandigram), Dilip Ghosh (Kharagpur Sadar), former junior union minister Nisith Pramanik (Mathabhanga), former India cricketer Ashok Dinda (Moyna) and fashion designer Agnimitra Paul (Asansol South).
Congress candidates include Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Baharampur), Mausam Benazir Noor (Maltipur) and Ali Imran Ramz (Chakulia). Aam Janata Unnayan Party chairman Humayun Kabir is contesting from Reginagar and Nowda.
The Election Commission has taken several steps to make the vote free, fair and peaceful. About 2,400 companies of central forces — around 240,000 personnel — have been deployed, the highest in the state’s electoral history.
A total of 44,378 polling stations have been set up for the 152 seats in the first phase. At least two cameras have been installed inside and outside each station, with live monitoring via webcasting. Officials at control rooms can monitor stations directly, and artificial intelligence will be used to issue real-time alerts.
About 2,193 quick response teams are on standby to react quickly to any unrest. The largest concentration, 288 teams, is in Murshidabad district.
Surveillance on social media has also been tightened. The Election Commission has warned that fake videos or rumors spread using AI will be acted on immediately.
The second phase of voting will be held on April 29 and counting on May 4.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report