West Bengal sees nearly 40 per cent voter turnout by 11 am in phase 2 polling

West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 39.97 per cent till 11 am on Wednesday, April 29 as polling continued across 142 Assembly constituencies in the second phase of the 2026 Assembly elections.

According to data released by the Election Commission of India, Purba Bardhaman registered the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly with 43.12 per cent polling during the same period.
Nadia district recorded a turnout of 40.34 per cent, while Kolkata North and Kolkata South registered 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent respectively.

The second phase is considered politically significant as voting is being held in several constituencies across South Bengal and Kolkata, regarded as traditional strongholds of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The principal electoral contest in the state remains between the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari visited polling booths in the Bhabanipur constituency to review polling arrangements. TMC national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote at the Mitra Institute polling booth in Bhabanipur.

Polling in the second phase is being conducted across 142 of the total 294 Assembly seats in the state. The electorate for this phase comprises approximately 3.21 crore voters, including 1,65,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 transgender voters.

A total of 1,448 candidates, including 220 women candidates, are contesting in this phase. Voting is being held at 41,001 polling stations, with more than 8,000 stations being managed entirely by women personnel.