43 constituencies go to polls today

Kolkata: Over one crore voters in West Bengal will decide the political fate of 306 candidates on Thursday, when 43 Assembly constituencies go to polls in the sixth phase, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19.

Security measures have been heightened in view of the violence in the previous phases, particularly the death of five people in Cooch Behar in the fourth phase of polling on April 10, an Election Commission official said.

The poll panel has decided to deploy at least 1,071 companies of Central forces in the sixth phase to ensure free and fair voting, he said.

It will also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols during the voting process, the official said. Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday rejected the Trinamool Congress' suggestion to merge the remaining three phases of voting in West Bengal citing legal and resource constraints.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien had written a letter to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Aariz Aftab on Tuesday, urging him to consider the party's request amid the steep hike in Covid-19 cases.

Both the TMC and the BJP have pitched hard to gain the confidence of Matuas, who make for a large chunk of the state's Scheduled Caste population, in most of the 17 Assembly segments going to polls in this phase in North 24-Parganas district and some of the nine seats in Nadia.