The polling percentage in the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections for 142 constituencies stood at 78.68% in the first eight hours till 3 p.m. This figure is slightly lower than the 78.77% recorded in the first phase for 152 Assembly constituencies on April 23. The Election Commission of India (ECI) anticipates a final polling percentage of about 93% by 6 p.m. in the second phase, matching the first phase’s turnout.
The trend observed in both phases of polling on April 23 and the current phase is a consistently high polling percentage throughout the day. Contrary to past elections where a lull in polling was common between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., this time, the high voter turnout has been sustained even during those hours. An official from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in West Bengal highlighted this shift in voting patterns.
District-wise, East Burdwan recorded the highest polling percentage at 83.11% by 1 p.m., followed by Hooghly at 80.77%, Nadia at 79.79%, and others. Notably, the current polling percentages surpass the average of 58.5% recorded during the same period in the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Galsi Assembly constituency in East Burdwan district registered the highest polling percentage at 85.11%, while Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas district had the lowest at 70.1% by 3 p.m.
In the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, the polling percentage was 75.66% by 3 p.m. Adhikari expressed confidence in victory if the percentage crosses 80, with a larger margin expected at 90%.
