West Bengal, Assam go to first day of polls

West Bengal and Assam started voting today on the first day of staggered polls in both states. Voting is taking place in 30 seats in Bengal and 47 in Assam. In Bengal, the ruling Trinamool and the opposition BJP – who have waged a high-stakes, sometimes shrill and often vicious campaign over the past few weeks – will both be eager to make a strong start. The Congress-Left alliance – widely expected to finish a distant third – is also in the mix. In Assam the BJP faces a challenge from the Congress-led ‘mahajot’, or ‘grand alliance’ to retain power. In the 2016 Bengal election the Trinamool won 26 of these 30 seats. In Assam, the BJP produced a similar performance to win 35 of 47 seats. Polling booths across both states opened at 7 am and close at 6 pm; polling has been extended by an hour due to the Covid pandemic. In Assam, a voter turnout of 7.5 per cent was recorded till 9 am. Bengal saw a turnout pf 5 per cent in the same duration.

Over 73 lakh voters from five districts – all of Purulia and Jhargram, and parts of Bankura, West Medinipur and East Medinipur – will vote in the around 10,200 booths of the first phase of the Bengal election. In Assam, around 81 lakh people will vote across Upper Assam and parts of Central Assam, with over 11,000 booths and nearly 2,000 auxiliary booths being set up.

Of the 30 seats in Bengal, the BJP is contesting 29; one has been given to the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). The Trinamool will also contest 29 and support an independent candidate for the other seat. The Congress, perhaps chastened by recent catastrophically poor election performances, will contest only five seats. Its alliance partner – the Left parties – will contest the majority, of which the CPM will fight 18 and the CPI 4.

In Assam, the BJP is contesting 39 of the 47 seats in this phase and ally AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) 10. The two parties will go head-to-head in a “friendly contest” in two seats. The Congress – at the end of a ‘mahajot’ (grand alliance) – will contest 43 seats, with one each for the AIDUF of Badruddin Ajmal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the AGM and the CPIML. A third option for voters is the fledgling Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which was formed last year by the All Assam Students’ Union and the Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad.