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India's West Bengal phase 2 voting sees 90% turnout, peaceful amid tight security
The first phase of voting in West Bengal, which took place on April 23, saw a record voter turnout of 92.03%, the highest voting percentage in the state since 1951
- PUBLISHED: Wed 29 Apr 2026, 6:23 PM UPDATED: Wed 29 Apr 2026, 7:37 PM
Voting for the crucial second phase of state assembly elections in West Bengal was by and large peaceful on Wednesday. Over 90 per cent of the voters across 142 constituencies in seven districts had exercised their franchise by afternoon, according to officials.
“Voting was peaceful amid elaborate security arrangements,” Manoj Kumar, the state’s chief electoral official, told the media. There was extensive security deployment and close monitoring of the process, ensuring smooth voting, he added.
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The first phase of voting in the state, which took place on April 23, saw a record voter turnout of 92.03 per cent. This was the highest voting in the state since 1951.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had campaigned extensively in the state, thanked the people for turning out in large numbers on Wednesday. “I express my gratitude to the great people of Bengal for being aware of their rights and voting in large numbers,” he said.
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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, however, accused the Election Commission of India and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of harassing her party workers and “attempting to bulldoze democracy.”
Mamata and her key rival, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, arrived at the booth at Bhawanipur around the same time. The BJP leader, formerly a close aide of Mamata, had defeated his former boss from Nandigram constituency in 2021.
The BJP decided to field him against Mamata from Bhawanipur this time. On Wednesday morning as they were at Bhwanipur, Mamata charged the BJP of trying to rig the elections. She accused the CRPF of unleashing terror in the area. She referred to a video of a party worker, who she claimed was beaten up by BJP workers. “What kind of hooliganism is going on?” she asked reporters.
Adhikari, who was standing close by lashed out saying Mamata was scared as her police force had been replaced by the Central Armed Police Forces, who would “not allow any hooliganism.”
He predicted that the chief minister would be defeated by at least 30,000 votes. BJP leaders also accused Mamata’s backers of blocking people in some booths from voting for the BJP candidate.
Several celebrities were also seen in Kolkata and other cities exercising their franchise from early morning.
Former cricketer Sourav Ganguly and his wife Dona were seen exercising their franchise. Sourav told reporters he was confident overall voting would exceed 90 per cent.
Prosenjit Chatterjee, the Bengali actor, director, playback singer and TV personality told the media that voting was taking place smoothly and peacefully. “I am very happy, especially because my son is voting for the first time. Today, he got the right to cast his vote,” he said.
Other Tollywood stars who turned up at booths included Abir Chatterjee, Nusrat Jahan, Yash Dasgupta, Jeet, Raj Chakraborty, Raima Sen, and Koel Mallick.
Counting of votes for elections held in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will begin on May 4 and the final results will also be declared the same evening.
