Bengal polls: Voting begins in second phase for 142 seats

Voting for the second and final phase of the Assembly elections in West Bengal began at 7 am on Wednesday amid tight security.

Polling was underway in 142 of the state’s 294 constituencies spread across seven districts. Voting will conclude at 6 pm.

The first phase of polling, which covered 152 seats in 16 districts, was held on April 23 and a record turnout of 93.2% was reported.

Votes will be counted on May 4 for West Bengal, along with Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, where polling was held on April 9. The count will also include Tamil Nadu, where voting took place alongside the first phase of the elections in West Bengal on April 23.

In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been in power since 2011. The main Opposition in the state over the years has shifted from the Left parties to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the 2021 polls, the BJP managed to win 77 seats in the 294-member Assembly. The Trinamool Congress had won 215. A party or an alliance needs 148 seats for a majority. The other alliance comprising the Left, the Congress and some smaller parties, despite securing a 10% vote share, had won just one seat.

Read Scroll’s coverage of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections here.

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