The last time that voters in all the 294 constituencies went to vote on a single day in Bengal was in the 2001 Assembly polls.
Twenty-five years later Bengal will go to poll on two days, April 23 and 29, despite questions lingering around the history of poll-related violence linked with the state.
“After detailed deliberations it was found necessary to reduce the number of phases to an extent where it was convenient for everybody,” chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told the media in Delhi’s Nirvachan Sadan while announcing the poll schedule for Bengal, Assam, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Except for Bengal, polling in the remaining three states and one Union territory will be held on a single day.
In the years since 2001, polls in Bengal have increasingly spanned over a month or two in some instances.
Elections were held in five phases in 2006, six phases in 2011, seven phases in 2016 and eight in 2021. The parliamentary polls in Bengal too have been held in multiple phases between 2014 and 2024.
For the eight phases in the 2021 Assembly polls, the Centre had deployed 1,000 companies of central paramilitary forces including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
On April 10, 2021, during the fourth phase of polling in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi four persons were killed when central forces opened fire alleging the polling booth had been attacked.
Closer home, in Calcutta’s Narkeldanga, a BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar was murdered after the poll results came out.
Ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, the Centre has already deployed 480 companies of central forces to the state for area domination, confidence building measures, poll day duty and guarding EVM strongrooms.
The first tranche of the central paramilitary forces, deployed on March 1, included 110 companies of CRPF, 55 companies of BSF, and the remainder from CISF, ITBP and SSB.
Another 120 companies of CRPF, 65 companies of BSF and rest from CISF, ITBP and SSB have been stationed in Bengal since March 10.
While the central forces have been marching on Bengal roads, a BJP worker was shot at in South 24-Parganas on March 10 and the residence of state industries minister Shashi Panja in north Calcutta’s Girish Park vandalised by alleged BJP supporters on Saturday.
The central poll panel has not provided any details of how many companies of central forces will be required to be deployed in Bengal to keep Gyanesh Kumar’s promise of a violence-free and intimidation-free election.
Sources in the chief electoral officer’s office indicated over 2,000 companies could be required to keep Bengal peaceful, after the poll dates were announced and till the counting of votes on May 4.
With the fate of over 45 lakh voters still undecided under special intensive revision and the supplementary list not being published, the central poll panel is apprehensive of violence once the list is published.
Most of the cases of adjudication are in the districts bordering Bangladesh like North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur.
“The possibility of violence if a large number of names are dropped in the supplementary list cannot be ruled out. We have to take precautions,” said a source in the central poll panel.
When the full bench of the EC, led by the CEC, was in Calcutta last week, the Bengal BJP and CPM had demanded elections be held in one or two phases.
“How many phases will it take for the people of Bengal to decisively reject Bangla-birodhi BJP?” asked the ruling Trinamool on its X.
The party provided the answer: a photograph of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek with the V sign or two.