West Bengal recorded a historic voter turnout in the 2026 Assembly elections, fueled by massive delistings under the Special Intensive Review (SIR), with women leading the turnout and several Kolkata seats seeing unusually high polling rates in the second and final phase on Wednesday.
According to Election Commission of India (ECI) data, the total voter turnout at the polls was 92.9% (as of 11 pm on April 29), including 92.59% in the second phase on Wednesday. The first phase, which was held on April 23, witnessed a voter turnout of 93.19%, according to the European Commission.
The female voter turnout rate reached 93.24% in both stages, exceeding the male turnout rate of 91.74%. In the first stage, the participation rate of women was 94.10%, compared to 92.34% among men. In the second stage, the number of women outnumbered the number of men again, with the participation rate reaching 92.28% compared to 91.07%.
The participation rate in the second phase of 92.59% was much higher than the previous record of 84.72% in the 2011 House of Representatives elections.
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In absolute numbers, the number of participants reached about 63.2 million, which is also the highest in the state’s history. In 2021, the absolute turnout was 59.6 million.
The turnout in the second phase is also the highest in any major state in state or Lok Sabha elections. To be sure, West Bengal also held the previous record (before this election cycle). The 2011 West Bengal state elections recorded a turnout of 84.72%, the highest of any major state. This was overtaken by Assam, where a special list review was conducted, in this election cycle, when it recorded a turnout of 85.38%, and has now been overtaken by West Bengal again.
Kolkata emerged as a major focus area in the second phase, recording high voting percentages with no reports of violence. Around 88% voter turnout was recorded across 11 assembly segments of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation till 8 pm. The Kolkata South Lok Sabha division witnessed a turnout of 87.59%, while North Kolkata recorded 89.19%, both much higher than the 2024 Lok Sabha figures of 72.30% and 63.67% respectively. Key constituencies like Bhabanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, have seen intense political contests. The turnout in Bhabanipur was 86.74%. In 2021, this percentage reached 61.79%. About 50,000 people were removed from the seat.
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Other constituencies recorded similarly high participation, including Entali (91.89%), Beliaghata (90.52%) and Manikthala (90.05%).
In her first move since coming to power, Banerjee toured her constituency for more than an hour on Wednesday. “I have never seen this kind of election,” she said before casting her vote in the late afternoon. “It is the duty of the Border Security Forces to secure the borders. But they are seizing booths in the areas. The media will soon start showing poll reports. Don’t believe them. It is being done under the guidance of the BJP. We will win.”
Adhikari, on the other hand, interpreted the record turnout as an indication of his victory. “An 85% voter turnout means I am the winner. If the turnout exceeds 90%, my margin will set a record,” he said while touring Bhabanipur.
The high turnout was interpreted differently by political parties, with the TMC and the BJP expressing confidence. “As per our internal assessment, this is a vote of anger. The identity war between outsiders and Bengalis was the main issue,” a TMC functionary said. “The huge turnout made it clear that people want to bid farewell to the TMC government,” said Debjit Sarkar, BJP’s official spokesperson in the state.
