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As polling for the second phase of the 2026 Assembly elections is underway across 142 constituencies in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rashbehari constituency candidate Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday cast his vote here, urging voters to turnout in large numbers.
Speaking to ANI after he cast his vote in Rashbehari constituency, Dasgupta praised the Election Commission for the peaceful election in the first phase. He added that West Bengal would set a new trend of having peaceful elections across the state. "The election has just started. The first thing I did was vote. There was a long line which is very good because it shows that a lot of people are voting with great enthusiasm. We feel that the higher the turnout, the greater will be the prospects for people voting for change in West Bengal...I hope that the high turnout of the first phase, the peaceful nature of the polling in the first phase, is repeated in the second phase as well and West Bengal will set a new trend of having peaceful elections, and if that happens, my full compliments to the Election Commission..." Dasgupta added. Furthermore, BJP candidate from the Pursurah assembly seat, Biman Ghosh, cast his vote in Hooghly. Speaking to ANI, Ghosh appealed to voters to come out of their homes and exercise their voting right. He further hoped for peaceful elections in the state, expressing confidence in the BJP's victory in the elections. "I appeal to the voters to come out in the morning and vote. This is a festival. Vote and change Bengal. Real transformation will come now. This time, that record (in the first phase) will be broken...Voting should hopefully be peaceful...We will win a high number of seats and come to power. Bengal will transform...TMC Private Limited Company of the aunt and nephew, will shut down. Its workers will have to look for other companies...To people I would like to say - Pehle matdaan, phir jalpaan," said Biman Ghosh. Ghosh further slammed TMC MP Mitali Bag, accusing her of doing "drama", amidst the allegations of an attack on her car during campaigning in the state. "This was a drama done by Mitali Bag...Does the public not understand all this? Will crying help her case? No. MP is a responsible position. She should have thought of this. They will be wiped out," he said. The scale of the final phase is massive, covering nearly half of the state's total assembly seats, 142 (out of 294). The second phase of polling is crucial in shaping the electoral trajectory in the state as polling is underway today. Authorities have put in place elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth and peaceful polling across regions. The total electorate is around 3.21 crore (Male: 1,64,35,627 and Female: 1,57,37,418 and Third Gender: 792). 1,448 candidates are in the fray, including 220 women at 41,001 polling stations, with over 8,000 managed entirely by women. After a record-shattering voter turnout in the first phase, West Bengal enters its second and final phase of polling today. This round is widely seen as the "litmus test" for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), as voting moves into the party's traditional fortresses in South Bengal and Kolkata. Early morning visuals captured a state in "mission mode." Election officials and polling agents gathered at dawn to conduct mock polls, a mandatory procedure to ensure the integrity of EVMs and VVPAT machines. The high-stakes electoral contest sees the ruling Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, aiming to retain power, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is making strong efforts to expand its presence in the state. These include 39,301 main stations and 1700 auxiliary stations. There are 8,845 all-women-managed stations, 13 PWD-managed stations, and 258 "model" polling stations. There will be webcasting for all 41,001 polling stations. The results of West Bengal polls will be declared on May 4, along with the outcome of polls in Assam, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. (ANI)
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