West Bengal elections: Voting in two phases from April 23 - check full schedule

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission connected Sunday announced the docket for the upcoming assembly elections successful West Bengal, with polling for the state’s 294 assembly constituencies to beryllium held successful 2 phases connected April 23 and April 29.The announcement was made by the canvass sheet led by main predetermination commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a property league successful New Delhi.Voting successful West Bengal volition instrumentality spot successful 2 phases. The archetypal phase, covering 152 assembly constituencies, volition beryllium held connected April 23, portion the 2nd phase, covering the remaining 142 constituencies, volition beryllium conducted connected April 29.The counting of votes for some phases volition instrumentality spot connected May 4, portion the predetermination process is scheduled to beryllium completed by May 6, the main predetermination commissioner said.

With the announcement of the canvass schedule, the Model Code of Conduct comes into contiguous effect successful the state.The West Bengal Legislative Assembly consists of 294 seats, with members elected from single-member constituencies for a five-year term. The past assembly predetermination successful the authorities was held successful 2021, conducted successful 8 phases betwixt March 27 and April 29, amid an aggravated contention betwixt the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee and the

Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP).

In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the TMC secured a decisive triumph and returned to powerfulness for a 3rd consecutive term. According to authoritative predetermination data, the enactment won 213 seats successful the 294-member assembly, comfortably crossing the bulk people of 148 seats.The BJP emerged arsenic the main absorption party, winning 77 seats, a important leap compared with its 3 seats successful the 2016 assembly election.

The results marked a large enlargement of the BJP’s beingness successful the authorities legislature and cemented its presumption arsenic the main challenger to the TMC.Despite the TMC’s wide victory, the enactment saw a large setback. One of the astir intimately watched battles was successful Nandigram, wherever BJP person Suvendu Adhikari defeated main curate Mamata Banerjee, though she aboriginal returned to the assembly done a bypoll from Bhabanipur. In 2021, elections portion the BJP made large gains, accepted parties specified arsenic the Congress and the Left Front failed to triumph a important fig of seats.In 2016, TMC won 211 seats successful the authorities portion Congress secured 44 seats, followed by CPI(M) gaining 26 seats. Mamata Banerjee has been starring the authorities since 2011. Before her, West Bengal was dominated by the Communist Party for implicit 3 decades.