A record 2,450 companies of central paramilitary forces, comprising nearly 2.5 lakh personnel, have been deployed across West Bengal for the polls.
Voters in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu headed to the polling booths on Thursday, amid tight security arrangements and a high-stakes battle between the National Democratic Alliance and the opposition bloc.
Voting for the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly began at 7:00 am and will continue till 6:00 pm in a single-phase election. In Bengal, polling is being done in two phases with 152 constituencies lined up today. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
In Tamil Nadu, the election battle is shaping up primarily between the ruling Congress–DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and the BJP–AIADMK coalition. However, the entry of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has added a new dimension, turning the contest into a multi-cornered race.
As many as 4,023 candidates are contesting across the state, including several prominent political figures. Chief Minister MK Stalin is seeking a second consecutive term from Kolathur in Chennai, while his son and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is contesting from Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni.
On the opposition front, AIADMK chief and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami is contesting from Edappadi in Salem district. Vijay, making his electoral debut, is contesting from two constituencies—Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East.
West Bengal
According to the Election Commission, over 3.60 crore electors are eligible to vote in this phase, including around 1.75 crore women and 465 third-gender voters.
For Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the opposition, the BJP, it is a desperate battle amid the political firestorm over the voter list revision.
A record 2,450 companies of central paramilitary forces, comprising nearly 2.5 lakh personnel, have been deployed across the state for the polls, with over 8,000 polling stations identified as highly sensitive. The Election Commission has placed districts such as Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Birbhum and Purba Bardhaman under special surveillance.
The first phase assumes political significance because it includes all 54 seats in north Bengal, the region that powered the BJP’s rise in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and helped it emerge as the principal challenger to the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.
