Prominent candidates include BJP state president and sitting MP Sukanta Majumdar in Balurghat, BJP Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, TMC Raiganj candidate Krishna Kalyani, who was a BJP MLA. Raju Bista takes on the BJP’s Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who is running as an independent.

The Election Commission of India has stated that central forces will be deployed at all polling stations in the state in the second phase as 98 per cent of the stations are critical. The poll panel will deploy 73 companies of central forces at Balurghat, 111 in Raiganj, 88 in Darjeeling constituencies. Each company comprises 10,051 personnel. Additionally, 12,983 state police personnel will be deployed in the second phase.

There are 51,17,955 voters—26,07,389 men, 25,10,356 women and 210 transgender individuals, 5,298 polling stations and 47 candidates including three women in the second phase. Twenty candidates are in the fray in Raiganj, 13 in Balurghat and 14 in Darjeeling.