Voting for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 concluded on Wednesday, witnessing a strong voter turnout. The key focus of the polling is the contest between Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 89.99% as of 5 PM on Wednesday during the second phase of the Assembly elections.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Purba Bardhaman district continued to maintain the lead with a whopping turnout of 92.46%, followed by Hooghly (90.34%), Nadia (90.28%), Howrah (89.44%) and North 24 Paraganas. South 24 Paraganas witnessed a turnout of 89.74% and 89.57% respectively.
The second phase covers 142 of the state’s 294 seats, with an electorate of around 3.21 crore, including over 1.64 crore men, 1.57 crore women, and 792 transgender voters. A total of 1,448 candidates, including 220 women, are contesting across 41,001 polling stations, more than 8,000 of which are managed entirely by women.
Key attention remains on major urban constituencies such as Bhabanipur and Tollyganj, the latter being a prominent hub of the Bengali film industry.
In the 2021 elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 123 of these 142 seats. For the BJP, this phase is crucial to expand its reach among urban “bhadralok” voters and the Matua community, while the TMC is focused on retaining its dominance to secure a fourth consecutive term for Mamata Banerjee.
The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
