Manoj Kumar Agarwal flags 77 EVM tamper cases, hints at repoll on May 2
West Bengal Polls: "77 cases of EVM tampering reported; re-polling likely to take place before May 2," says CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal
On exit poll predictions, Suvendu Adhikari says, BJP to get over 180 seats'
On exit poll predictions, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari says, "BJP to get over 180 seats, will comfortably form a government in Bengal."
West Bengal sees record 92.47% turnout in both phases of Assembly polls
West Bengal recorded its highest-ever voter turnout in the 2026 assembly polls since Independence, with a cumulative 92.47 per cent polling in two phases, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.
Polling in the second and final phase on Wednesday registered 91.66 per cent turnout till 7.45 pm, while the first phase had recorded 93.19 per cent voting, it said.
The previous highest turnout in the state was 84.72 per cent during the 2011 assembly elections, the poll panel said.
Women voters outnumbered men in participation during this election, with the female turnout at 93.24 per cent compared to 91.74 per cent male participation, the Commission said.
The figures are provisional and does not include service voters and postal ballots, it added.
2026 West Bengal polls witnesses record 92% turnout
West Bengal's high-stakes assembly elections ended on Wednesday with a massive voter turnout of 91.66 per cent in the second and final phase, capping one of the most intense electoral contests in the recent years and setting the stage for a far-reaching verdict on whether chief minister Mamata Banerjee will continue her dominance or the BJP will break the TMC's hold in the state.
With 91.66 per cent at the closing of the voting, and reportedly lakhs of voters still waiting in queues to cast their ballots, the second phase of polls across 142 constituencies in South Bengal looked poised to match the first phase's record voter participation of 93.19 per cent.
The metropolis of Kolkata recorded a turnout of around 87 per cent at that time, with Purba Bardhaman district topping the chart at 92.46 per cent.
A communication from the Election Commission said 91.66 per cent turnout was recorded in the second phase of polls till 7.45 pm, putting the combined poll percentage over the two-phases at 92.47 per cent. The first phase of polling was held on April 23 and the counting will be on May 4.
"This is the highest-ever recorded poll-participation since Independence in West Bengal," it said.
Poll officials seal EVMs at Ghoralia Junior High School in Nadia
Poll officials seal EVMs at Ghoralia Junior High School in Nadia’s Santipur constituency.
CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal thanks voters for high turnout, pegs final voting near 93%
CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal thank voters for historic high voting percentage in second phase of polling, he expects the final voting percentage to be around 93 pc.
He says, "In the second phase of polling for 142 seats, the polling has completed at 95 pc of the seats, at 2-5 pc of booths, the polling is going on, for voters who had come before 6 pm... The control room is monitoring... The entire voting percentage is yet to come, the present voting percentage is 92.47 pc, the phase 2 saw more polling... We expect it to be around 93 pc... The election was mostly peaceful... I want to thank the voters..."
CPM calls phase 2 polls peaceful, seeks strong room security
The CPM on Wednesday said the second phase of polling in West Bengal was by and large peaceful, though there were scattered attempts to intimidate voters.
Addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim said poll officials were largely able to conduct the elections peacefully.
He said there were no major incidents of violence during the assembly elections in a state known for poll-related clashes, adding that the process proved elections could be peaceful if conducted strictly according to rules.
Salim said the party wanted the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) strong rooms and counting centres to be properly secured till completion of counting for all 294 assembly seats.
EC may order repoll in West Bengal if EVM tampering claims prove true
West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Wednesday said the Election Commission will order repoll in booths where allegations of EVM tampering using tapes or ink are found to be true, asserting that the poll panel has a "zero tolerance" policy against such offences.
The CEO said that a repoll will be ordered only after the authorities examine reports from the district election officer or election observers on allegations of tampering with EVMs using tapes or blot of ink.
Agarwal's statement came following allegations by the BJP that the party's symbols on EVMs were covered with tapes or ink in certain booths during the second and final phase of polling, which is underway.
We estimate that we will be getting more than 180 seats: Manoj Tiwari
On exit polls, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari says, "Exit polls that came, the figures are lesser than what we expect, we estimate that we will be getting more than 180 seats... I did campaigning in 36 constituencies, we saw the rallies of PM Narendra Modi, it seems he is raring to make Bengal according to its lineage, Amit Shah worked hard, Nitin Nabin's management, all are going to work."
Exit polls are baseless: Kunal Ghosh
"Exit polls are baseless, we trust 'Maa, Mati and Manush'" says TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
BJP will get less than 50 seats: Shashi Panja
TMC leader Shashi Panja says, "What we are expecting, people are making TMC victorious, the TMC is going to get more than 235 seats, and the BJP will get less than 50 seats, this is what we are expecting."
Highest ever percentage of polling in Bengal in both Phase 1 and 2 since Independence: Gyanesh Kumar
CEC Gyanesh Kumar says: “Highest ever percentage of polling in West Bengal in both Phase I & II since Independence - Chunav ka Parv, Paschim Bengal ka Garv"
Voter turnout at 7:30 pm in Phase 2: 91.53%
Approximate voter turnout at 7:30 pm in Phase 2 according to ECINET: 91.53 per cent.
East Burdwan: 93.44 per cent
South 24-Parganas: 91.60 per cent
North 24-Parganas: 91.57 per cent
Hooghly: 91.46 per cent
Nadia: 91.41 per cent
Howrah: 91.06 per cent
Kolkata North: 88.98 per cent
Kolkata South: 87.34 per cent
BJP government is being formed in state with two-thirds majority: Arjun Singh
On exit polls for West Bengal, BJP candidate from the Noapara constituency, Arjun Singh, says, "The BJP government is being formed in the state with a two-thirds majority...People voted in large numbers against the TMC."
This time, they could only cast 10-12 fake votes: Suvendu Adhikari
BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari says, "...In the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, more than 90 per cent of voters have cast their votes. This is a record. In 2021, the voter turnout here was 82 per cent; in 2024, it was 78 per cent. This time, they could only cast 10-12 fake votes, in which 4-5 men wearing burqas cast votes at some booths in Ward 77. We caught them, after which they fled..."
We will not let Bengal become Assam or Manipur: Mohammed Salim
When asked about whether high voting percentage is because of the SIR, CPI(M) State Secretary Mohammed Salim says, "People understood the importance of vote, after a lot of struggle, they could get the voting right, so whatever is achieved after struggle, it becomes valuable, hence people from outside also came, those who were ill, also came, but those who could not vote, we will not let Bengal become Assam or Manipur, for their democratic right, we will have to continue our fight."
"We want the police to act according to the SOP, they should not act under pressure... The question is whether the people's rights are being ensured, or being snatched, are you making your own law?... In 1971, such deployment happened, RK Laxman had made a cartoon... There is nothing as such that with central force only, democracy will be there... With force, guns, central force, military, the democracy cannot be stored, it is stored with the power of people," he said.
We hope they will play DJs for us after the 4th: Samik Bhattacharya
West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya says, "We thank the people of West Bengal. They have voted fearlessly this time, and have clearly stated that they are voting for change. They have voted against the divisive politics that the TMC practices... In the first phase, people voted for change, and we are seeing the same in the second phase. This is what was going to happen... Those who said they would play DJs, we hope they will play DJs for us after the 4th."
Amid bitter Bengal poll battle, gesture of political warmth stands out in Nadia
Amid fierce contests and bitter exchanges of words during West Bengal's second and final phase of polling on Wednesday, a rare scene of political warmth stood out in Nadia district.
A BJP candidate's gesture of goodwill towards rival Trinamool Congress workers at their camp emerged as an unlikely moment of civility.
The BJP's Nawadip candidate and Hindu preacher Shruti Shekhar Goswami was seen interacting cordially with local TMC activists at their polling camp.
“Everyone is free to do politics of their choice throughout the day, but in the evening, people (of different political beliefs) should be able to sit together and have tea. Why should personal relationships be destroyed?" Goswami told PTI.
People may support different political parties, but human ties should not break, he said.
The gesture drew appreciation from his rival camp as well.
“He (Goswami) is a respected religious figure and also a candidate of another party. We felt very good that he came and sat with us and spoke warmly. Political differences will remain, but this healthy conversation felt good,” a local leader of the TMC said, sitting in the camp.
The TMC's Pundarikakshya Saha is contesting from Nawadwip, an old town which is associated with the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the advent of the Vaishnav religion in Bengal.
Over a hundred kilometres away in Kolkata, saffron-clad monks of ISKCON walked towards their polling stations singing “Hare Krishna” and devotional songs to cast their votes.
“We remember God before doing anything,” ISKCON Kolkata vice president and spokesperson Radha Raman Das said.
The monks cast their votes at La Martiniere School for Boys in the Chowringhee constituency and later displayed their inked fingers after participating in the democratic exercise.
Another striking visual came from St Mary’s School on Ripon Street in the same constituency, where Catholic nuns from the Missionaries of Charity arrived in the morning to vote.
Clad in their distinctive white saris with blue borders, the sisters quietly joined the queue along with other voters.
The second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections was held in 142 constituencies across Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman districts.
Feels like a different kind of election: Sujit Bose
TMC Candidate from Bidhannagar & West Bengal Minister, Sujit Bose says, "... The morning was dull, but people came out in large numbers, even in the rain. Families queued together, showing strong public support. With heavy turnout and central forces present, this feels like a different kind of election."
TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee claims voter death after ‘assault’ by central forces
Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that an elderly voter died after being assaulted by central forces in Howrah district during polling for the second phase of West Bengal assembly elections.
In a strongly-worded post on X, Banerjee accused the central forces deployed in the state of acting as the BJP's "private army" and terrorising voters.
Referring to the incident in Udaynarayanpur, he claimed that the elderly man had gone to cast his vote with his son and collapsed after central forces allegedly pushed and assaulted them while the son was trying to help him enter the booth.
"The old man collapsed, was rushed to Amta Hospital and declared dead on arrival," Banerjee wrote.
The Diamond Harbour MP further alleged that since morning, central forces had been "slapping women, assaulting the elderly, attacking even children", and likened the alleged incidents to the "Sitalkuchi mentality" of 2021.
Invoking the 2021 Sitalkuchi firing incident, Banerjee claimed the BJP had paid a political price then and would "pay an even heavier price in 2026".
He also warned that those involved in the alleged excesses would be "made to face the full force of the law".
There was no immediate response from the BJP, central forces or the Election Commission on the allegations.
