E-Paper
Why West Bengal voting phases have been reduced to 2 from 8
The counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections 2026 will take place on May 4, along with that of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
Election Commission of India (EC) on Sunday announced that voting for West Bengal elections 2026 will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, as opposed to the eight-phased polls in 2021.
The counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections 2026 will take place on May 4, along with that of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
Asked why the number of phases in West Bengal has come down from eight to just two, the chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said the poll body has had detailed deliberation and found necessary to reduce the number of phases and bring it down to an extent where it was convenient for everybody.
The Election Commission of India announced election dates for the four poll-bound states - Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal - and Puducherry, a Union territory, on Sunday. Track all updates from Election Commission press conference here
While Bengal elections will be two-phased, the polls in the other states and Puducherry will be held in a single phase.
Election schedule
Assam: Voting on April 9 | Results on May 4
Kerala: Voting on April 9 | Results on May 4
Puducherry: Voting on April 9 | Results on May 4
Tamil Nadu: Voting on April 23 | Results on May 4
West Bengal: Voting on April 24, 29, | Results on May 4
Check detailed schedule of assembly elections 2026 here
Assam has 126 assembly constituencies, Kerala 140, Puducherry 30, Tamil Nadu 234, and West Bengal 294. CEC Gyanesh Kumar said 2.18 lakh polling stations will be set up for the voting exercise in the four states and Puducherry.
In the 2021 Bengal elections, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress secured 215 seats, defeating the closest rival Bharatiya Janata Party, which became the official opposition with 77 constituencies in its kitty.
While talking about elections in Bengal this time, CEC Gyanesh Kumar also addressed the concerns over poll violence and said necessary action shall be taken on police offers who were found to be involved in earlier polls.
“With regards to the police officers who were involved in the violence in earlier elections, the list has been sought, as is known to the media during our visit to West Bengal, and necessary action as per law shall be taken...,” CEC Gyanesh Kumar said.
He emphasised that elections in all states and the union territory shall be violence and inducement-free, warning of strict action if anything to the contrary is noticed or reported.
