Kolkata: Polling for the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections begins today, 29 April, at 7 am. Voting will be held across 142 constituencies, marking a crucial stage in the state’s electoral process.

A total of 142 seats will go to the polls today, deciding the electoral fate of 1,448 candidates. This includes 1,228 male and 220 female candidates.

The constituencies voting today cover key regions considered strongholds of the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC), including Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, and Purba Bardhaman. These areas form the core political base of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to strengthen its position in South Bengal and improve upon its previous performance of 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.

What’s closed today

Several services and institutions will remain shut in constituencies where voting is taking place:

Banks: Banks will remain closed in areas where polling is scheduled today. A special election holiday has been declared for these regions. However, banks will remain open in areas where voting was already completed on 23 April.

Government offices: All government offices in constituencies going to polls today will remain closed.

Schools and colleges: All schools, both government and private, will remain closed across West Bengal. All colleges in the state will also remain shut for the day.

What’s open today

Despite the election-related closures, several essential and public services will continue as usual:

Public transport: Bus, train, tram, and auto-rickshaw services will operate normally.

Emergency services: Hospitals, ambulances, pharmacies, fire services, and other emergency facilities will remain open.

Shops and markets: Retail outlets, shops, and shopping malls will function as usual.

Stock markets: The BSE and National Stock Exchange will remain open and operate normally.

Voter strength and polling arrangements

Over 3.22 crore voters are eligible to participate in today’s polling. This includes around 3.21 crore general electors and nearly 40,000 service voters. The electorate comprises 1.64 crore male voters, 1.57 crore female voters, and 792 voters identified as third gender.

The Election Commission has also highlighted the participation of diverse voter groups, including more than 4.12 lakh first-time voters aged between 18 and 19 years, over 3,200 voters aged above 100 years, and more than 57,000 persons with disabilities.

To ensure smooth polling, 41,001 polling stations have been set up across the state. This includes 39,301 main polling stations and 1,700 auxiliary stations. Among them are 8,845 all-women-managed booths, 13 polling stations managed by persons with disabilities, and 258 model polling stations. Webcasting arrangements have been made at all polling stations for monitoring purposes.

Election timeline and context

The first phase of polling was conducted on 23 April across 152 constituencies. The final results of the West Bengal elections, along with those of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, will be declared on 4 May.

With agency inputs