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The seventh and penultimate phase of the West Bengal State Assembly Elections 2021 has started today, 26^th April 2021 at 7 AM. The seventh phase of the elections will be held in 34 assembly constituencies spread over five districts of the state – which include parts of the capital Kolkata too. The original schedule was to hold polling for 36 seats in the five districts but the Election Commission has postponed elections for 2 constituencies due to deaths of 2 contesting candidates from the Samyukta Morcha who were contesting these 2 seats from their party.

The five areas where the polling is being conducted today are – Kolkata Part-1, Murshidabad district, Malda district, Dakshin Dinajpur district and Paschim Bardhaman district. Six constituencies each are up for contest in the West Bengal State Assembly Elections 2021 from Dakshin Dinajpur & Malda districts, nine each from Murshidabad & Paschim Bardhaman and four constituencies in Kolkata. Four out of the 34 seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and two for Scheduled Tribes. There are over 9000 polling booths in the state and 284 candidates who are contesting for a seat in the West Bengal Assembly in the seventh phase of the elections. The seventh phase of elections also includes Bhabanipur – CM Mamata Banerjee’s home ground which will undergo polling. The Election Commission poll panel has decided to deploy nearly 800 companies of central forces to ensure safety of voters & election officers while overseeing fair conduct of polling during the seventh phase of elections.

The polling began at 7 AM sharp in West Bengal for the seventh phase of West Bengal State Assembly Elections 2021 amidst a destructive second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The polling will happen under tight security and voters can cast their votes up to 6 PM in the evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi put out a tweet on the social media platform Twitter urging all the voters to follow guidelines and respect the Covid-19 protocols which have been enforced for their safety. Later in the day, Trinamool Congress candidate from Bhawanipore constituency cried foul saying the Covid-19 regulations was going for a toss and not being implemented at polling booths.

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By 9 AM, nearly 18% of registered voters had cast their votes in the seventh phase of the West Bengal State Assembly Elections 2021. At 11 AM, the voter turnout had increased nearly twice to 37.8% according to election officials. BJP candidate from the Rashbehari assembly constituency Lt Gen Subrata Saha’s agent was detained on Monday for allegedly molesting a few women voters inside a polling booth in the city’s New Alipore area, police said. Mohan Rao was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said. Rao, denied any such allegations and claimed them to be untrue as the police investigation looking into the matter is underway.

By 1PM, a voter turnout of 55% was recorded while the polling has been relatively peaceful throughout the day. In the afternoon, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cast her vote at a polling booth in Mitra Institution in Kolkata that falls under her Bhawanipore Assembly seat. The metro regions of Kolkata are a stronghold of Mamata Banerjee as she secured wins here even when the Communist Party of India [CPI (M)] were in power in the state. The Election Commission expects around 80% of voter turnout by the end of the day. More updates to follow.

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