Kolkata: In the sixth phase of polls in Bengal on Saturday, as many as 79 candidates, including nine women, are in the fray for eight Parliamentary constituencies (PCs) — Tamluk, Contai, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur.
The number of first-time electors stands at over 4.03 lakh will be a deciding factor in this penultimate phase of polls.
The Election Commission (EC) has deployed 919 companies of Central Forces and 29,468 state forces. A total of 2,678 out of 15,600 polling stations have been earmarked as critical with Contai alone accounting for 501 critical polling stations.
Among the eight poll-bound PCs, three were won by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and four by the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The key candidates in the fray include Dipak Adhikari popularly known as Dev, June Malia, Saumitra Khan and Agnimitra Paul, among others.
Over 1.45 crore voters, including over 73.63 lakh males and 71.70 lakh females will exercise their franchise in this phase. The total number of 85 plus electors in this phase stands at 96,131 with 1,082 above 100 years. A total of 35,950 voters, including ones above 85 years and PWD (Persons with Disabilities) have availed home voting facilities and have cast their franchise.
Out of 15,600 polling stations, 269 will be manned by only female polling personnel and five by PWD voting personnel. There will be 95 model polling stations during this phase — the highest in the elections so far.