Bengal Polls Phase 1: Voting underway for 152 assembly constituencies, 91.46% turnout till 6pm

April 23, 2026

Kolkata: Polling is underway for 152 assembly constituencies scattered over 16 districts in the first phase of the two-phase crucial West Bengal assembly polls. The voter turnout in West Bengal (Phase 1) was recorded at 91.46 per cent till 6 pm.

Turnout till 6pm

Several districts in West Bengal recorded over 90 per cent voter turnout. Dakshin Dinajpur led with 94.85%, followed by Cooch Behar at 94.54%, Birbhum at 93.70%, Jalpaiguri at 93.23%, and Murshidabad at 92.93%. The figures reflect consistently high voter participation across the state, with all major districts comfortably staying above the 90% mark.

Turnout till 5pm

West Bengal once again emerged as the frontrunner, with several districts crossing the 90% mark. Dakshin Dinajpur led the state with an exceptional 93.12%, followed by Cooch Behar at 92.07%, Birbhum at 91.55%, Murshidabad at 91.36%, and Jalpaiguri at 91.20%. Jhargram (90.53%) and Paschim Medinipur (90.70%) also remained above the 90% threshold, while Bankura recorded 89.91% and Malda 89.56%. Darjeeling, though comparatively lower, still posted a strong 86.49%.

Turnout till 3pm 

In West Bengal, multiple districts reported exceptionally high voter turnout figures, underscoring an energised electorate.

Dakshin Dinajpur emerged as the frontrunner with 81.49%, followed closely by Paschim Medinipur at 81.07%, Jhargram at 81.04%, and Birbhum at 80.22%. Murshidabad also saw strong participation at 79.72%, while Darjeeling and Malda recorded comparatively lower but still significant turnouts of 76.54% and 76.22%, respectively. The overall trend indicates a widespread and enthusiastic voter response across both urban and rural pockets of the state.

Turnout till 1pm 

In West Bengal, Paschim Mednipur district recorded a high turnout of 65.77 per cent followed by Jhargam at 65.31 per cent and Bankura at 64.58. The lowest turnout was recorded in Malda at 58.45.22 per cent.

Voter Turnout till 11 am 

In West Bengal, Paschim Mednipur district recorded a high turnout of 44. 68 percent followed by Jhargam at 43.71 per cent and Bankura at 43.22 per cent. The lowest turnout was recorded in Malda at 38.22 per cent.

The voters’ enthusiasm over the elections seemed to be quite high this time, with the queues of voters being witnessed in front of some polling stations in several assembly constituencies, much before the beginning of the polling process at 7 a.m. officially.

This time, the voters are required to go through a two-stage verification process, the first being by the central armed police (CAPF) personnel before entering the polling station premises, and the second by the booth-level officer (BLO) concerned before entering the polling room. The polling process had been peaceful so far at the time the report was filed.

However, there had been reports of some malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) at certain polling booths at the time of the beginning of the polling process. Mock polling, mandatory before the actual polling process, could not start in time at a polling station at the industrial township of Durgapur in West Burdwan district because of the inactive battery of the EVM there.

Similarly, mock polling could not be conducted at a polling booth at Siliguri in Darjeeling district in North Bengal and Baharampur in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district.

16 Districts under polling in Phase 1

The 16 districts where polling is being held in the first phase on Thursday are Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda in North Bengal, and Murshidabad, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan, and Birbhum in South Bengal. Seven of these 16 districts are under the Election Commission of India’s special scanner due to security concerns on the polling day.

The first phase of the Assembly polls is being conducted under unprecedented security cover, with the deployment of 2,407 companies of central forces, including Central Armed Police Forces, the India Reserve Battalion, and personnel from armed police wings of other states, in addition to personnel from West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police. Webcasting is being conducted in all polling stations.

The second phase of polls in West Bengal for the remaining 142 assembly constituencies will be on April 29. ​The results will be declared on May 4.