Kolkata, April 29: Voting has commenced for the second and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, starting at 7 AM. This phase covers 142 out of the total 294 assembly seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the people of West Bengal to participate in large numbers and exercise their voting rights.
On Wednesday, PM Modi took to social media platform ‘X’ to encourage voters, stating, “Today marks the second phase of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. I urge everyone voting today to come out in record numbers and make our democracy more vibrant and participatory. It is especially crucial for the women and youth of West Bengal to step forward and cast their votes.”
Among the high-profile seats being contested is Bhawanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces off against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who is also contesting from Nandigram, where he is the incumbent BJP MLA.
A total of 1,448 candidates are vying for these 142 assembly seats in this phase. Of these, 1,228 are male candidates and 220 are female. The constituency of Bhangar in South 24 Parganas has the highest number of candidates at 15, while Hooghly district has the fewest with 5 candidates.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), there are 32,173,837 registered voters across these 142 assembly seats, representing approximately 64% of the total population of 50,013,786 in these constituencies. Among the registered voters, there are 16,435,627 male voters, 15,737,418 female voters, and 792 third-gender voters.
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal has confirmed that all 32,173,837 registered voters have been issued Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). There are 3,243 voters aged 100 years or older, and 196,801 voters aged 85 years or older. Additionally, there are 146 Non-Resident Indian (NRI) voters and 39,961 service voters.
In addition to Kolkata, the 142 assembly seats are spread across six other districts: Nadia, East Bardhaman, Hooghly, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, and Howrah. The Jorasanko assembly seat in Kolkata is the smallest by area, covering just 3.48 square kilometers, while the Kalyani seat in Nadia district is the largest, spanning 135 square kilometers. Bhatarpara in North 24 Parganas has the fewest voters at 117,195, whereas Chuchura in Hooghly boasts the highest number at 275,715 voters.
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