Assembly Election 2026 Highlights: BJP looks to breach TMC's south Bengal bastion, voting for 142 seats tomorrow

Speaking to ANI, Adhikari. who is contesting from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur said, "I am contesting on the basis of public support and the workers, not on the basis of the Election Commission or central forces...I am going to fight and defeat Mamata Banerjee tomorrow".

"Mamata's police lodged 35 FIRs against me after the second week of 2021, and I was thrown out of the Assembly multiple times," he claimed.

The Election Commission of India writes to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal. The letter reads, "Sourav Hazra, Jt. BDO, Falta Dev. Block (notified as ARO for 144-Falta AC) be transferred from Falta to Purulia H.Q. as Jt.BDO and be replaced by Ramya Bhattacharya, OSD in the rank of Jt.BDO"

"As the next and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections takes place tomorrow, I call upon all voters to participate enthusiastically in this festival of democracy. I especially urge the youth, women and first-time voters of West Bengal to come out in record numbers and vote. Every vote is crucial in shaping the future of West Bengal and strengthening democracy and the rule of law,” West Bengal Governor RN Ravi said, according to a post by the Lok Bhavan, West Bengal.

Deputy Commandant CRPF, Nil Kamal Bharadwaj says, "A large number of CRPF personnel are patrolling all the constituencies of Kolkata, the routes for public movement from all the polling stations, hyper-sensitive and normal booths... If there were any goons, they have either hidden or changed their location because they are not here..."

A petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, claiming that its earlier order on action against "troublemakers" in view of the West Bengal assembly polls was not being adhered to by the Election Commission.

The high court had on April 22 stayed an order of the commission's police observer, who termed certain citizens as "troublemakers" and directed the authorities concerned to take action against them.

The movement of people and vehicles on the Bangladesh border routes in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district has been restricted ahead of the second and final phase of the assembly elections in the state on Wednesday, officials said.

The curb, which has been imposed on April 26 and will continue till the completion of the polling process, is applicable to the Petrapole land port, the largest such facility in South Asia, they said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has ramped up its ops in Bengal ahead of the second phase of polls as part of precautionary measures to ensure a peaceful electoral process and to enable swift response to any untoward situation.

Officials said the NIA teams are present in Purba Bardhaman, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Nadia, Howrah and Kolkata, and are actively probing cases related to the recovery of crude bombs, illegal arms and ammunition.

Altogether 1,468 people, who have been added to the West Bengal electoral rolls following the SIR-linked tribunal orders, will be able to exercise their franchise in the second and final phase of the assembly polls on April 29, an EC official said on Tuesday, as per PTI.

According to the Election Commission, voters whose names appear in the supplementary roll can check details by entering their EPIC number on its website.

After UP's ‘Dabangg’ encounter specialist cop Ajay Pal Sharma was seen warning TMC's Falta candidate Jehangir Khan, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has now dug up an old video of Sharma allegedly dancing with women. TMC said in their post, ‘This is BJP’s culture. A deeply MISOGYNISTIC, PATRIARCHAL, RAPE-ENABLING culture that treats women as objects of lust and entitlement. And now, meet its latest ambassador.’

Disclaimer: Mint has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.

The BJP has fielded former Rajya Sabha member and columnist Swapan Dasgupta as its candidate for the Rashbehari seat. Born in Calcutta in 1955 and educated at St Paul's School Darjeeling, La Martiniere Kolkata and St Stephen's College, Dasgupta holds an MA and PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

A Padma Bhushan recipient in 2015, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 but resigned in 2021 after the TMC flagged his potential disqualification upon joining a political party.

He had previously contested the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections from Tarakeswar, losing by just over 7,000 votes to his TMC rival.

TMC on Tuesday hit back at the BJP over a social media graphic depicting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee moving out after the 4 May results, captioned "Bengal Good Bye."

TMC called it "an open threat to erase everything Bengal stands for," interpreting the post as an attack on the state's culture, language and identity.

"BJP does not want to govern Bengal. They want to dismantle it. They want to alter who we are at our very core; to replace our identity with their homogenised, monolithic version where there is no room for Bengal's distinctiveness, Bengal's pride or Bengal's soul," the party posted on X, renewing its "Bangla-Birodhi" jibe against the BJP.

AAP leader and Delhi Leader of Opposition Atishi on Tuesday accused the BJP of failing to deliver on its election promise of ₹2,500 per month to women in Delhi.

"In January 2025, ahead of Delhi elections, PM Narendra Modi had promised that on 8th March 2025, every woman in Delhi will get ₹2500 in her account. He had said it is 'Modi ki guarantee'... Modi ji, even 8th March 2026 has gone by now, but the women of Delhi didn't get even 25 paise in their accounts," she said, adding that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was now making similar promises to women in West Bengal while leaving Delhi's women without the pledged funds.

Lok Bhavan, West Bengal, announced on Tuesday that its 24x7 citizen helpline will remain operational until 10 May 2026 to support voters through the ongoing assembly election process and ensure free, fair and fear-free elections across the state.

Just ahead of West Bengal's second phase of polling on Wednesday, 1,468 names have been added back to the electoral roll, bringing the total number of eligible voters for this phase to 3.22 crore across 142 assembly constituencies, according to the Indian Express.

Tribunals have separately ruled that six names cannot be included, though the overall number of cases heard before polling concludes remains unclear.

West Bengal recorded its highest ever voter turnout since Independence in Phase 1 of the current assembly elections, with 91.78% participation, surpassing its previous record of 84.72% set during the 2011 state elections.

A few days before the polling date, each eligible voter is issued a voting slip with details about polling booth to make sure they can reach the voting centre easily. But this is not the official ID required to cast the vote. You need to carry either of the documents listed above to be able to cast vote.

Any citizen of India, who is 18 years or older on the qualifying date for the election and a resident in the polling area of the constituency with the name included in the official electoral roll(voter list) of your constituency is eligible to vote in the Assembly Elections 2026.