CEC Gyanesh Kumar said Bengal will go to polls in two phases, so it is “convenient” for people while government sources indicated logistical constraints and political calculations
The Election Commission of India has done away with the usual multiple-phase polling schedule in West Bengal, which will vote in two phases for the first time in 25 years.
The 2026 assembly election in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with the counting of votes on May 4. The Election Commission (EC) announced the polling schedule for West Bengal, Assam, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Sunday.
Chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said Bengal will go to polls in two phases so it is “convenient” for the electorate.
“The commission held deliberations and discussions on this and it was decided to bring the two-phase (election) for West Bengal to make it convenient for people,” Gyanesh Kumar said during a press conference, when asked why the EC decided to change the polling norm in Bengal.
Government sources, however, indicated logistical constraints as well as political calculations as a reason behind the shift to a two-phase polling schedule in Bengal.
For nearly two decades, elections in the politically volatile eastern state have been synonymous with long, staggered polling schedules. Since 2006, the polls have unfolded in five or more phases.
HOW HAS POLLING LOOKED SO FAR IN BENGAL?
After 2006, assembly elections in Bengal have almost always been stretched across multiple phases because of the state’s complex security and logistical requirements.
Since that year, the state has never seen fewer than five phases in the assembly polls.
2006 assembly election: 5 phases
2011 assembly election: 6 phases
2016 assembly election: 7 phases
2021 assembly election: 8 phases
Hence, the current development is significant. For the first time in nearly 25 years, polling in Bengal is being held in only two phases. This is a massive change from the multi-phase polling the state is used to.
Multi-phase polling was largely conducted due to security concerns and the logistical challenge of deploying central forces across a politically volatile state, as cited by the EC. Against this backdrop, the change in the norm is a departure from the polling body’s earlier stance on the law-and-order situation.
WHY THIS DEPARTURE FROM THE NORM?
Bengal will vote in such a compressed schedule for the first time in 25 years, signalling either a significant shift in the EC’s assessment of the law-and-order situation or a recalibration of election management and machinery in one of India’s most politically charged states.
According to sources in the government, the shift to a two-phase election in West Bengal reflects both logistical constraints and political calculations.
The sources said initially, a single-phase poll was discussed but that would have required at least 4,000 companies of central forces to secure around 80,000 polling booths across the state. This is a deployment neither the Centre nor the state could realistically sustain.
They said the ongoing legal tussle over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has complicated the election timeline. The judiciary is expected to quickly conclude appeals to avoid uncertainty before the date of nomination and the constitutional deadline of May 4, by which time a new government must be in place. Hence, no stakeholder wants the process to drift towards President’s Rule, they added.
A senior officer said in this context, the EC has opted for two phases requiring roughly more than 2,000 companies of paramilitary forces at a time, making deployment manageable.
