Bengal election 2026 highlights: 86.9% voter turnout till 5pm; TMC holds key meet ahead of counting

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Nearly 37% voter turnout has been recorded in 2 assembly seats in Magrahat Paschim and Diamond Harbour, where re-polling is being held across 15 polling booths.

Notably, till 11 am, 38.2% approximate voter turnout was recorded in Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and 35.92% in Diamond Harbour.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: TMC MP Saket Gokhale has raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the vote counting timetable, questioning the gap between polling and counting across several states.

He posted on X: "The vote counting delay scam…With EVMs which are digital, why does the ECI need over 4 days for starting the counting process?

Counting can easily begin within 48 hours of voting. Besides, counting for Assam & Kerala didn’t have to wait till 4th May (after 24 days of voting).

Simple - it gives BJP enough time to play the markets using fake exit polls. During Lok Sabha 2024, ordinary investors lost ₹31 lakh crore after exit polls gave 400+ to NDA. The results turned out to be the opposite.

This is a racket worth lakhs of crores & the ECI & SEBI are colluding to help BJP make money."

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: The Supreme Court on Saturday said no further order was necessary on the TMC's plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's dismissal of its petition against an Election Commission circular on the deployment of central government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal.

A special bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said the Election Commission (EC) can choose counting personnel and its April 13 circular cannot be said to be incorrect.

The poll body said the circular is very clear that there will be a mix of central and state government employees and the apprehension of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of any wrongdoing is misplaced.

The EC assured the court that the circular would be implemented in letter and spirit.

At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, said the circular was dated April 13, but they came to know about it on April 29.

The bench, which held a special sitting, said that the EC can choose counting personnel from only one pool, that is from the central government, and its circular cannot be said to be incorrect.

(With PTI inputs)

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Shashi Panja on Saturday arrived at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, which has been converted into a strongroom for the secure storage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) ahead of the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

Heavy security arrangements have been put in place at the venue, with multiple layers of barricading and personnel deployed to ensure the safety of the EVMs.

Authorities said access to the premises is strictly regulated, with candidates and authorised agents permitted to monitor the strongroom in accordance with Election Commission guidelines.

Panja's visit comes amid heightened political tensions following allegations of EVM tampering and the Election Commission's decision to conduct repolling in 15 booths in South 24 Parganas district.

Earlier, Panja had alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deliberately attempted to provoke unrest during polling to force repolling and malign the state's electoral process.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: On repolling in West Bengal, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “EVM tampering is happening everywhere in the country. It happened in Maharashtra, it happened in Assam. But in West Bengal, TMC workers are vigilant, so re-polling is happening. Given the way Mamata Banerjee and her party are fighting the Election Commission's corrupt business, they have resorted to re-polling.”

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: In a fresh claim against TMC, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya claimed that “an attempt was made by a TMC goon to scale the compound walls and gain access to a strong room housing EVMs.”

He wrote on X: “The incident was flagged by BJP candidate Sanjay Das, raising serious concerns about the intent behind such actions. This is no ordinary facility, it contains EVMs from five crucial Assembly Constituencies: Bardhaman Uttar, Bardhaman Dakshin, Galsi, Ausgram, and Bhatar.”

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: While hearing the TMC's plea over the ECI circular on deploying central government staff as counting supervisors, Supreme Court Justice Bagchi said that counting would take place in the presence of every party's election agents.

“It hardly matters if he is central govt nominee or not. It is to subjective satisfaction of ECI. Your counting agents will be there and so as others…”

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: The Supreme Court recorded the Election Commission of India’s statement that the April 13 circular would be followed in letter and spirit, which mandates that at least one nominee at each counting table must be a state government official.

With this direction, the court disposed of the plea filed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) against the ECI’s April 13 decision mandating at least one central government officer as counting supervisor at each counting table during counting on Monday.

West Bengal election 2026 LIVE: The Supreme Court has commenced hearing on the TMC's plea against the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees for vote counting in Bengal.

West Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday flagged concern over a notice to deploy contractual employees on duty on the day of vote counting in Pingla and Daspur constituencies.

Adhikari accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of an attempt to manipulate the mandate and urged the Election Commission to intervene.

In an X post, Adhikari wrote, "Is the fate of Democracy being handed over to contractual workers? It is a matter of grave concern and a direct assault on the sanctity of the democratic process. I am appalled to see the Counting Orders issued for 227-Pingla AC and 230-Daspur AC, where a significant number of Contractual and Casual Employees have been deployed for critical counting duties."

West Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Repolling in one of the polling booths in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district was halted for over an hour on Saturday morning after an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) malfunctioned.

Various electors had to wait in the queue for over an hour amid the malfunction as repolling started early morning at 7 AM across 15 polling booths in the Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim assembly constituencies.

Expressing frustration over the incident, one voter asked the officials to clarify the situation or, instead, just shut the booth.

"If it is not happening (voting), close the booth, tell us and we will go home. Why are we standing here? Why are we here? It has been more than half an hour, they should close it, so that we can go home," said the elector.

(With ANI inputs)

West Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Till 9 am, an approximate voter turnout of 15.83 per cent was recorded in the Diamond Harbour assembly constituency, according to ANI.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Till 9 am, 16.68% approximate voter turnout has been recorded in Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency, as per news agency ANI.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: A voter at booth number 243, Roynagar Primary School in the Diamond Harbour constituency, complained that he had been waiting for more than half an hour as the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) had malfunctioned.

Speaking to ANI, he said, “We have been standing here for half an hour now. We were told that there is a problem with the machine and it will be replaced. But it has been over half an hour now. But nobody has come here for that, and voting has not resumed. Give us an update; otherwise, we will go back. Nobody is telling us anything.”

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: During the West Bengal election repolling in South 24 Parganas, a voter at booth number 243, Roynagar Primary School in the Diamond Harbour constituency, complained that they had been waiting for more than half an hour as the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) had malfunctioned.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah on Friday said he has never trusted exit polls and expressed hope they would prove wrong.

"I have never trusted exit polls. Exit polls have proved wrong in the past, and I hope they prove wrong this time," Abdullah told reporters here when asked about the exit polls giving an edge to the BJP after the assembly polls in Bengal.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with all counting agents of the party on Saturday afternoon, two days before the counting of votes cast in the assembly elections, a senior party leader told PTI.

The meeting, fixed for 4 pm, will be attended by counting agents from the 291 Assembly constituencies where the ruling party fielded candidates.

The Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) contested the remaining three seats in the Darjeeling hills.

During the virtual meeting, the leaders are expected to brief the counting agents on their responsibilities to ensure there are no lapses during the counting process on May 4.

"The most important instruction to the agents would be to not leave the counting centres till the calculations are officially over and winning certificates handed over to the victors," the senior Trinamool Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, said.

"All unusual activities inside counting centres, like the sudden power cut at the Nandigram counting centre in 2021, must be immediately reported to the party's top brass," he said.

If such a situation arises, the leader said the counting agents would have to wait for directions from the top leaders on their next course of action.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Voters in Diamond Harbour constituency in West Bengal acknowledged the irregularities with polling on April 29, and stated that re-polling held on Saturday was "fine."

After voting at booth number 117, in Diamond Harbour constituency, a voter told ANI, "It was fine earlier too, it is fine now as well. Such things (re-polling) keep happening. There is no problem."

Another voter at the booth stated, "The machine was malfunctioning the last time. It is fine in the re-polling."

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: The Supreme Court on Friday constituted a special bench to hear the TMC's plea against the Calcutta High Court's rejection of its petition over the deployment of only Central government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) employees as supervisors for vote counting in the West Bengal assembly elections.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi will hear the plea today.

Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar on Friday sharply criticised the Election Commission (EC), accusing the polling body of working with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that this has led to a "lack of faith" in the EC.

Speaking amid the strong room row, Sarkar claimed, "The connivance between the Election Commission and the BJP is clear. Everyone knows this. This is not fair. In fact, the Election Commission has destroyed trust in the election process. Therefore, people no longer have any faith in the Election Commission."

Sarkar also dismissed the exit polls, labelling them as a tool for "propaganda" designed to benefit the BJP, urging people to wait for official results on May 4.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: BJP candidate from Siliguri assembly constituency Shankar Ghosh accused the Trinamool Congress of levelling false allegations against the Election Commission amid the plea challenging the deployment of only Central government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees as supervisors for vote counting in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Shankar Ghosh attributed the TMC's allegations against the ECI to the party's 'fear of election defeat'.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shashi Panja has written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal expressing concern over "intermittent CCTV disruptions" in strong rooms and seeking immediate access to complete surveillance records.

In her letter dated May 1, Panja raised objections over reported interruptions in CCTV surveillance at multiple strong room locations, stating that such lapses could compromise the integrity and security of stored electronic voting machines (EVMs) and VVPATs.

She cited reports of disruptions and inconsistencies from several locations, including strong rooms in Kolkata, Jalpaiguri, Gaighata Assembly constituency, Chandernagore Government College, and Jangipur Polytechnic College, among many others.

"If full transparency is not ensured forthwith, we will be compelled to pursue appropriate agitation based on democratic principles," the letter stated.

Speaking to news agency ANI, she said, “…This was basically the strategy of the BJP that on the day of the poll, first phase or the second phase, they would provoke the other political parties. There were incidents where they would incite some kind of trouble so that there could be a massive repoll in many more booths. We did not react to their provocation.”

She added, “This was the strategy of the BJP. They are not prepared, they are not winning. They tried this devious strategy that lets us have a repoll in many places and defame Bengal.”

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: The Supreme Court on Friday constituted a special bench to hear the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) plea on Saturday against the Calcutta high court's rejection of its plea that challenged the deployment of only Central government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) employees as supervisors for vote counting in the West Bengal assembly elections.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi to hear the plea at 10:30 AM tomorrow.

TMC, in its plea, urged the Supreme Court to take up the matter urgently, stating that vote counting in the poll-bound state is set to begin on Monday morning, and that any delay in hearing the plea would render it infructuous.

TMC approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court rejected their plea, upholding the validity of the decision requiring Central Govt/PSU employees to count as supervisors/assistants.

HC, in its observations, held that such appointments are within ECI's discretion and not illegal. The Court rejected apprehension that Central Govt. staff would act under political influence. Allegations were mere apprehensions without evidence.

Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Police and other security personnel were seen outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Diamond Harbour, one of the two constituencies where repolling is taking place.

A long queue of voters was seen at booth number 194, Haridevpur Primary School, in Diamond Harbour.

West Bengal election 2026 LIVE: Reacting to the re-polling, West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari said that he welcomed the decision and respects the EC.

Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said, “Whatever happened at Magrahat West is welcomed. The re-polling should have happened in more booths in Diamond Harbour and in the whole of the Falta segment... There is a system and procedure which is being followed... We respect the Election Commission.”