West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Wednesday said that voter turnout in the West Bengal Assembly polls 2026 reached a staggering 92.47 per cent (combined across two phases), hailing the large participation of people in the electoral process, the ANI reported.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), polling in Phase II stood at 91.66 per cent till 7:45 pm. In Phase I, held on April 23, voter turnout was 93.19 per cent, taking the combined figure to 92.47 per cent across both phases.
Voting across 142 seats in eight districts
Addressing a press conference, the CEO said that polling was conducted across 142 Assembly seats in eight districts: Kolkata South, Kolkata North, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, and Purba Bardhaman the news agency reported.
He added that there were 41,001 polling booths in total.
Kolkata witnesses record participation
The CEO said Kolkata saw historic voter participation. Sharing an anecdote, he said even the booth where he voted recorded over 80 per cent turnout.
“Turnout reached 92.47 per cent, with slightly higher voting in the second phase than in the first. At one booth in Alipore, turnout was over 95 per cent,” he said, ANI reported.
He also noted that polling remained largely peaceful with only minor incidents and no major issues reported.
Voting treated like a festival, says CEO
The CEO said many first-time and previously non-participating voters came out in large numbers, describing polling day as a festival.
“The Election Commission campaigned that voting day is like a festival. Higher turnout leads to a better representative government. In slum areas where turnout used to be low, it has increased significantly,” he said, the news agency reported.
He added that rural areas also saw strong participation.
Highest turnout since Independence
According to the ECI, West Bengal recorded its highest-ever voter turnout since Independence at 91.66 per cent in Phase II. The combined turnout of 92.47 per cent across two phases is the highest in the state’s electoral history.
Previously, the highest turnout recorded was 84.72 per cent in the 2011 Assembly elections.
Female voters led participation with 92.28 per cent, while male turnout stood at 91.07 per cent.
Exit polls project tight contest between BJP and TMC
Meanwhile, exit poll projections suggested a close contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026 .
Chanakya Strategies projected 150–160 seats for BJP and 130–140 for TMC, with others expected to win 6–10 seats.
Matrize projected BJP winning 146–161 seats and TMC 125–140 seats.
Poll Diary projected BJP winning 142–171 seats, while TMC was projected to secure 99–127 seats. Others may win 5–9 seats.
Counting of votes on May 4
The main electoral battle in the state remains between the ruling TMC and the BJP. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
(With ANI inputs)