The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the Lok Sabha election in West Bengal will be held over seven phases, beginning from April 11 and continue till May 19. The counting of votes for all the seats will take place on May 23.
In Phase 1, polling will take place in West Bengal for two constituencies (Cooch Behar and Alipurduar), in Phase 2 polling will take place for three constituencies (Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Raiganj), in Phase 3 polling will be done in five constituencies (Balurghat, Malda uttar, Malda dakshin, Jangipur, Murshidabad) and in Phase 4 polling will take place for eight constituencies (Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Bolpur, Birbhum, Ranaghat, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Bardhaman purba, and Asansol).
In Phase 5 polling will take place for seven constituencies (Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Hoogly, Sreerampur, Hoogly, and Arambag), in Phase 6 polling will take place for eight constituencies (Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Medinipur, and Bishnupur) and lastly in Phase 7 polling will take place for nine constituencies (Dumdum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar).
The first phase of polling will be held on April 11, second phase on April 18, third phase on April 23, fourth phase polling on April 29, fifth phase on May 6, sixth phase on May 12, and seventh phase on May 12.
Nearly 90 crore voters would be eligible to vote, the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said at a packed press conference in the national capital.
The state opposition parties on Sunday welcomed the seven-phase poll, adding that it reflects the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state. However, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) said such a prolonged polling process will put a lot of pressure on the people because of the month of Ramzan and the summer in April and May.
The state units of BJP and the Congress too welcomed the poll.
