Lok Sabha polls in Bengal to be held from April 19 to June 1in all 7 phases

TMC earlier urged the election commission to conduct the Lok Sabha polls Bengal in one or two phases since the election watchdog has sought the deployment of more than 900 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in the state

Kolkata: The Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal will be held from April 9 to June 1 in all seven phases alongside Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while the exercise in other Indian states will be completed in fewer phases, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar announced at a press conference in Delhi on Saturday.

The phase 1 polling will be held on April 19 (Representative Photo)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held across seven phases. The phase 1 polling will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third phase on May 7, the fourth phase on May 13, 5th phase on May 20, 6th phase on May 25 and the last and the 7th phase on June 1. The counting will take place on June 4.

Moreover, bypolls for the two assembly seats in Bengal will also be held at the same time as the Lok Sabha polls.

The Bhagabangola seat in Murshidabad district is vacant following the death of TMC legislator Idris Ali, and Baranagar in North 24 Parganas went vacant after TMC MLA Tapas Roy recently resigned from the legislative assembly and joined the BJP earlier this month.

Of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, West Bengal has 42. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set a record by winning 18 seats in Bengal, making the coming elections a big challenge for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Campaigning in Bengal has already started as the political parties have announced the names of their respective candidates. The TMC has announced the names of its 42 candidates, and the BJP and the Left parties have also named around half of their nominees.

TMC earlier urged the ECI to conduct the general elections in Bengal in one or two phases since the election watchdog has sought the deployment of more than 900 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in the state, more than what has been asked for any other state, to ensure free, fair and violence-free Lok Sabha polls. Around 100 companies of the CAPF have arrived in Bengal, with more to be deployed.

“ECI did not pay heed to our request,” Bengal’s minister of state for finance Chandrima Bhattacharya said after Saturday’s announcement.

“Our experience shows that it is convenient for voters if polls are held in a single phase. They turn out in larger numbers. The turnout falls during seven and eight-phase elections. Multi-phase polling makes things easier for parties that have huge financial resources,” he said, hinting at the BJP.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, however, said a seven-phase election will not affect his party.

“We have targeted all 42 seats and will surely win 30 to 35. Results at the rest of the seats will depend on how CPI(M) and Congress, which are also part of the INDIA coalition, approach the election. As far as BJP is concerned, several of their leaders are getting in touch with us every hour,” he said.

Welcoming the election commission’s announcement, Samik Bhattacharya, chief spokesperson of the BJP state unit, said, “The ECI did what it thought is required for free and fair polling because Bengal is the only state where violence is a salient feature of every election while other states celebrate the right to franchise like a festival.”

Poll schedule:

Phase I (April 19) – Cooch Behar (SC), Alipurduar (ST) Jalpaiguri (SC)

Phase 2 (April 26) – Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat

Phase 3 (May 7) – Malda North, Malda South, Jangipur, Murshidabad

Phase 4 (May 13) – Berhampore, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat (SC), Burdwan East (SC) Burdwan-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur (SC), Birbhum

Phase 5 (May 20) - Bongaon (SC), Barrackpore, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, Arambagh (SC)

Phase 6 (May 25) – Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST), Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur (SC)

Phase 7 (June 1) - Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Joynagar (SC), Mathurapur (SC), Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata South, Kolkata North