The Trinamool Congress, meanwhile, expressed disappointment and argued that the polling held in so many phases would only be advantageous to the BJP.
The eight seats in north Bengal will see polling take place in three phases, whereas the election in south Bengal’s 34 seats will be held over five phases.
In the first phase on April 19, elections will be held in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri seats in North Bengal. In the second phase, polls will be held in Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat constituencies on April 26.
The third phase on May 7 will see polls in Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur and Murshidabad constituencies. On May 13, the fourth phase will see voters exercise their franchise in the eight constituencies of Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bardhaman Purba, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur and Birbhum.
In the fifth phase on May 20, elections will be held in seven constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambag. In the sixth phase on May 25, elections will be held in eight constituencies – Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur.
In the seventh and the final phase on June 1, nine constituencies will go to polls, including Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar.
The counting of votes will take place on June 4. To ensure free, fair and violence-free Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has already sanctioned the deployment of 920 companies of central forces in West Bengal – the highest among all states in the country.
In 2019, the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal were held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The total number of phases was increased from five in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, following large-scale political violence in the state during that year.
Over 580 companies of central paramilitary forces were deployed to conduct the elections in Bengal in 2019. Out of the 42 total seats, the TMC won 22 seats in the state while the BJP emerged victorious in 18 seats, a significant difference compared to the two seats it won in 2014. The Congress won only two seats.
TMC unhappy
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, expressed its disappointment over the seven-phase election in Bengal.
Senior TMC leader and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “We had asked the EC to hold the election in one or two phases. But the poll panel has announced a seven-phase election for West Bengal. We are not satisfied with this. Without criticising the election commission, we feel that this kind of election set-up will help the BJP use its money power during the election process. Their leaders will be able to hold as many rallies as possible in the state.”
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar welcomed the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision. “Last time also a seven-phase election was held for Bengal. This time there is no difference. Due to the history of political violence in Bengal, it is not possible to hold elections here in one or two phases and without the presence of a huge number of central forces. We are happy with the decision. ECI said it would take action against muscle power. It is an absolute necessity in Bengal to curb incidents of violence,” said Majumdar.
In 2021, the Assembly election in West Bengal was held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. A total of 1,071 companies of central paramilitary forces were deployed for the smooth conduct of the polls in 292 seats in the 294-strong state Assembly. Elections to two seats were postponed following the death of contesting candidates.
The TMC went on to register a landslide victory in the election, winning 213 seats. The BJP became the primary Opposition party after it won 77 seats. The Left Front-Congress alliance drew a blank while new entrant Indian Secular Front (ISF) won only one seat. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Tamang) faction won one seat.