Bengal election 2nd-phase voting begins: Mamata, Suvendu Adhikari among contenders
What's the story
Voting for the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026 began at 7:00am across 142 constituencies in seven districts. A total of 1,448 candidates are contesting in this phase. This phase covers AC numbers 77-202 and 259-274. The counting of votes for all phases will be held on May 4, determining the state's next government.
Tollygunge contest
Tollyganj and Uttarpara
Among the key constituencies is Bhabanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will take on Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. Another seat is the Tollyganj constituency, home to Kolkata's film industry, which will see Trinamool Congress leader Aroop Biswas contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and actor Papia Adhikary. The Uttarpara seat will witness a triangular fight between Sirsanya Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dipanjan Chakraborty of the BJP and Minakshi Mukherjee from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Dum Dum contest
Dum Dum Uttar and Bidhannagar
In the Dum Dum Uttar constituency, Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya of the TMC will fight to keep her seat against the CPI(M)'s Dipsita Dhar. The Bidhannagar constituency will see a multi-cornered contest with TMC's Sujit Bose and BJP's Sharadwat Mukherjee, who had gone viral for campaigning with a fish in his hand. In Panihati constituency, Tirthankar Ghosh of the TMC will take on BJP's Ratna Debnath. The Bhangar seat will see ISF leader Nawsad Siddique contesting against TMC's Saokat Molla.
Maniktala contest
Maniktala, Kaliganj and Kolkata Port
In the Maniktala constituency, Shreya Pandey of the TMC will take on BJP's Tapas Roy. The Kaliganj seat will see Alifa Ahmed from the TMC contesting against CPI(M)'s Sabina Iyasmin Sekh. In Kolkata Port, Firhad Hakim of the TMC will face BJP's Rakesh Singh and CPI(M)'s Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, while in the Noapara constituency, BJP's Arjun Singh will take on TMC's Trinankur Bhattacharjee and CPI(M)'s Gargi Chatterjee.
BJP
BJP's promise
The BJP, which held massive campaigns led by big shots, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to dethrone the TMC, has promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) within six months. Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that all government employees will receive dearness allowance (DA) and that the 7th Pay Commission will be implemented within 45 days. He also vowed that every woman would receive ₹3,000, and guaranteed a 33% quota for women in all Bengal government jobs.
TMC
TMC's poll promises
The Trinamool Congress's manifesto, on the other hand, centered around "Didi's 10 pledges." They include a promise to increase aid under Lakshmir Bhandar by ₹500, taking monthly support to ₹1,500 for general category women and ₹1,700 for SC/ST beneficiaries. The government will also continue a ₹1,500 monthly subsidy for unemployed youth under Banglar Yuba-Sathi and allocate a ₹30,000 crore agriculture budget to support farmers, especially landless ones. The TMC has been in power since 2011.