About 93.3 million voters will decide the fate of 5,501 candidates in the fray across all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu and 152 of 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal on Thursday.
The second phase of voting for the remaining 142 seats in West Bengal is scheduled to take place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4 for the two states along with Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, where polling was held on April 9.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) is seeking a fourth consecutive term, while his arch-rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to oust the incumbent government. The Congress and the Left parties, which were effectively defeated in the local council elections five years ago, hope for the recovery of the eastern state.
On Thursday, polling will be held in the entire tea belt of Darjeeling and Terai region, the districts of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, considered a stronghold of the Rajbanshi community, the Muslim-majority border areas of Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur, as well as the tribal belt in the west comprising Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram, and the mining and industrial belt of Asansol and the state. Durgapur.
In 2021, the ruling TMC won 92 of the 152 seats that went to polls in the first phase, while the BJP won 59 seats. One seat went to an independent candidate, as the Congress and the Left failed to open their accounts.
The controversial Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls had a significant impact on the areas that would go to the polls in the first phase. Of the 2.7 million voters whose names were removed from the electoral roll after adjudication by judicial officials, Murshidabad and Malda recorded the highest number of deletions at 455,137 and 239,375 respectively.
The Election Commission has deployed around 2,400 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for the West Bengal elections, officials said.
In Tamil Nadu, the contest is primarily between the ruling secular Progressive Alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the National Democratic Alliance led by the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in India. However, the entry of actor and politician Vijay, Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), has increased the competition.
Among the 4,023 candidates in the fray in the southern state are Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is contesting from Kolathur in Chennai, and is eyeing a second consecutive term for his party, his son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is contesting from Chepauk-Thiruvalikini, AIADMK general secretary and leader of the opposition in the outgoing state assembly, Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is contesting from Edappadi in Salem. region. Vijay is contesting from two seats – Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East constituency.
In 2021, the DMK-led alliance swept the polls, winning 159 of the 234 seats in the state, while the AIADMK-led alliance managed to bag 75 seats.
During the election campaign, the TDP – which is contesting 164 seats, leaving 70 to its allies, including the Congress – maintained that the election battle in the southern state was a battle between Tamil Nadu and the Delhi-NDA, targeting the BJP-led Centre. On the other hand, the AIADMK – which is contesting 169 seats, leaving 65 seats for allies, including 27 for the BJP – has targeted the DMK on allegations of dynasty and family rule, deteriorating law and order, heavy debt burden, alleged drug proliferation, and insecurity for women and children.
Vijay-led TVK, which is making its electoral debut in the polls, has fielded its candidates in all 234 seats.
The poll panel has deployed around 1,700 CAPF companies for the Tamil Nadu elections, officials said.
In Bengal, the major constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase include Nandigram in East Midnapore and Baharampur in Murshidabad. The BJP has fielded MLA and LoP in an encounter with Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in 2021, from Nandigram, while the TMC has pitted Adhikari’s former colleague Pabitra Kar, who recently returned to TMC after quitting the BJP.
In Baharampur, veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is contesting the Assembly elections after three decades. Chowdhury, a former five-time MP, lost from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in 2024 to former cricketer and TMC candidate Yusuf Pathan.
