Bengal all set for six-phase poll beginning April 4

West Bengal is all set for the six-phased Assembly elections starting from April 4.

Unlike the six-phase 2011 Assembly election this time the polling will take place on seven days. Phase-I of the election in the Maoist infested districts will be spread over two days – April 4 and 11. This is the first time the state is going to experience polls on seven days. The month long poll starts from  April 4 and results will be out on  May 19. The tenure of the present government is scheduled to come to an end on May 29.

This time 6,55,48,101 people which include 3,16,38,993 women are going to exercise their power to decide that who will run the state for the next 5 years. The votes will be cast in 77,247 polling stations spread over 294 Assembly constituencies. There are 758 third gender voters who will be voting for the first time.

Elections in 18 Assembly constituencies in districts including West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia are scheduled to take place on April 4. Notification for the election on April 4 will be issued on  March 11 and the candidates can file their nominations till  March 18. Assembly constituencies in West Midnapore and Bankura including Dantan, Sabang, Keshiary, Pingla, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Bishnupur, Oda, Saltora and Chatna are poll- bound on April 11. The residents of a part of Burdwan district will cast their votes on  April 11 while election in the remaining part of the district will be in phase-III on April 21. 

The poll in almost all districts of North Bengal apart from Cooch Behar and Birbhum is in phase-II which is scheduled to take place on  April 17. Elections in 56 Assembly constituencies including Darjeeling, Matigara-Naxalbari, Siliguri, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Kalchini and Alipurduar among others will take place in the second phase.

Voters from 62 Assembly constituencies including seven - Chowringhee, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Kasshipur-Belgachia, Manicktala, Entally and Beliaghata - in Kolkata will cast their vote in the third phase which is scheduled on  April 21. The polls in 49 assembly constituencies in the two adjacent districts of Kolkata – North 24-Parganas and Howrah – will be on  April 25. Elections in rest of the seats of Kolkata including Rashbehari, Bhowanipore, Kolkata Port and Ballygunge will take place on April 30.  Elections in South 24-Parganas and Hooghly will also take place in phase-V on 30 April.

Election in the final phase will take place in East Midnapore and Cooch Behar. In Cooch Behar around 16,000 people will cast their votes for the first time after the exchange of some enclaves between Bangladesh and India. The poll will take place in Cooch Behar in the last phase as the process of distribution of photo IDs and enrollment in voters’ list will be completed by then.