Thursday, 23 April 2026
Thursday, 23 April 2026
West Bengal reported a voter turnout of 89.93 per cent till 5 pm in the first phase of the Assembly election, with Dakshin Dinajpur recording the highest participation at 93.12 per cent.
In Nandigram, Purba Medinipur, long queues formed early and stayed through the day. In Dakshin Dinajpur, where turnout was the highest, tension surfaced briefly.
BJP candidate Suvendu Sarkar was allegedly manhandled while heading to a polling booth following reports of disturbances. Across polling stations, security personnel kept vigil.
People wait in a queue to cast votes during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, in Nandigram, Purba Medinipur district, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
BJP candidate Suvendu Sarkar being allegedly manhandled while heading to a polling booth following reports of disturbances, during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Dakshin Dinajpur district, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
A security official embraces a young boy at a polling station during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Murshidabad district, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
A patient, left, assisted by a man, arrives to cast his vote at a polling station during the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Panskura, East Midnapore district, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
In this image posted on April 23, 2026, A voter holding a child shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote in the first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, in Jhargram district.
Security check underway during voting in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, at a polling station in Murshidabad, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
A first time voter shows her ink-marked finger after casting vote during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Balurghat, Dakshin Dinajpur district, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Singer Arijit Singh leaves the polling booth with his wife after casting his vote on Thursday in Jiaganj, Murshidabad, West Bengal.
Security personnel assist an elderly woman during voting in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, at a polling station in Bolpur, Birbhum, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Security personnel keep vigil during voting in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, at a polling station in Panskura, Purba Medinipur, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
