Polling officials carry electoral material as they board a bus for their respective polling stations from a distribution centre, ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Birbhum distric on April 22, 2026
| Photo Credit: PTI
One hundred and fifty-two assembly seats spread across 16 districts of West Bengal will go to polls in the first phase of the elections on Thursday (April 23, 2026). About 3.6 crore electors will determine the fate of 1,478 candidates in the fray across these 152 seats. Eight of the districts going to elections are in north Bengal and eight in south Bengal.
The Election Commission of India has deployed a record number of about 2,407 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces for the first phase of polling. On Wednesday, as polling personnel across the 16 districts collected polling materials, including EVMs, and reached polling venues, the political parties continued to trade charges.
Published – April 23, 2026 02:00 am IST
