Story perspectives

West Bengal Election Starts Amid Roll-Revision Controversy, 41% Turnout

4/23/2026

Summary

West Bengal Election

West Bengal began its Assembly elections on Thursday, April 23 2026, with voting in 152 constituencies.
Election Commission reported over 3.60 crore eligible voters, 1.75 crore women, and deployed 2.5 lakh paramilitary personnel with 2,193 teams.
Roll-revision removed 91 lakh names, prompting the BJP to say bogus voters were cut while the TMC claimed minorities were disenfranchised.
Turnout was 41.1 % in West Bengal and 37.5 % in Tamil Nadu, with counting set for May 4 and second phase on April 29.

Summary

Mukherjee Tours Fish

BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukherjee toured neighborhoods with a live Catla fish to allay vegetarian-policy fears.
Analyst Biswanath Chakraborty says Mamata Banerjee invented the fish narrative, noting 65 % of Bengalis eat fish weekly, a powerful election symbol.
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal warned a 30-240 % liquor-sale surge could be used for voter inducement.
Former commissioner SY Quraishi criticized the EC’s AI algorithm for misreading Bengali name spellings, causing wrongful deletions.

History

Historical Context

The 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, held from March 27 to April 29, saw a record turnout of 86.2% among 8.5 crore eligible voters. Amid allegations of voter suppression, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won decisively, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the official opposition with 77 seats. This election highlighted ongoing tensions in Indian politics regarding minority representation and electoral integrity.

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West Bengal Election

West Bengal began its Assembly elections on Thursday, April 23 2026, with voting in 152 constituencies.
Election Commission reported over 3.60 crore eligible voters, 1.75 crore women, and deployed 2.5 lakh paramilitary personnel with 2,193 teams.
Roll-revision removed 91 lakh names, prompting the BJP to say bogus voters were cut while the TMC claimed minorities were disenfranchised.
Turnout was 41.1 % in West Bengal and 37.5 % in Tamil Nadu, with counting set for May 4 and second phase on April 29.

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