People celebrated it like a festival, but under a shadow of force.
In a democracy's most fundamental act, West Bengal's voters turned out in historic numbers on April 29, 2026 — 92.47 percent across 142 constituencies — affirming that participation itself remains a form of insistence. Yet the day's record figures were shadowed by allegations of force, manipulation, and at least one death, reminding us that the machinery of elections and the spirit of elections are not always the same thing. As the state waits for results on May 4, the question is not only who won, but whether the winning will be believed.
- A 92.47% turnout — among the highest in the state's post-independence history — signals an electorate that arrived with urgency, voting in rain, in crowds, in contested booths.
- TMC and BJP tore into each other with competing accusations: central forces acting as partisan enforcers on one side, EVM tampering and vote rigging on the other — each claim designed to pre-emptively delegitimize a potential loss.
- An elderly man in Udaynarayanpur allegedly died after being manhandled by central forces, a BJP polling agent needed stitches in Nadia, crude bombs surfaced in Purba Bardhaman — scattered incidents that together painted a portrait of an election conducted under duress.
- Exit polls forecast a historic BJP surge, but TMC pointed to 2021, when similar projections collapsed against a landslide — the party's confidence resting on the memory of being underestimated.
- A BJP candidate sharing tea with TMC rivals at day's end offered a quiet counterpoint — a reminder that beneath the machinery of electoral combat, ordinary human regard had not entirely disappeared.
West Bengal's second phase of voting closed on April 29, 2026, with a turnout of 92.47 percent across 142 constituencies — a figure officials said had not been seen since independence. Purba Bardhaman led at 93.39 percent; even Kolkata's South district crossed 87. Families came together, first-time voters lined up in the rain, and the Chief Electoral Officer called it a festival of democracy. By the numbers, it was a vindication.
But the day unfolded under a heavy shadow. Seven hundred companies of paramilitary forces were deployed across the state, and their presence became the story itself. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that central forces were acting as a private army for the BJP — manhandling voters, driving her polling agents from booths, making the process neither free nor fair. The BJP's Suvendu Adhikari dismissed her claims as desperation. The BJP, in turn, alleged that TMC workers had covered party symbols on EVMs with tape and ink in the Falta area, demanding repoll. The Election Commission said it would investigate.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that an elderly man in Udaynarayanpur died after central forces manhandled him and his son as they tried to vote. The CRPF did not directly address the claim. Across the state, scattered violence accumulated: a polling agent stitched up in Nadia, a candidate's car attacked with rods in Basanti, lathi charges in Bhangar, crude bombs recovered in Purba Bardhaman. None of it was systemic, but together it described an election conducted under tension.
Exit polls released at day's end predicted a significant BJP advantage — a historic shift in a state TMC has controlled since 2011. The party dismissed the projections, pointing to 2021, when exit polls predicted a close race and TMC won 215 seats to BJP's 77. 'Mandates in Bengal are never close,' said one TMC leader. 'They're always decisive.'
Amid the acrimony, one moment offered a different register. A BJP candidate in Nadia — a Hindu preacher named Shruti Shekhar Goswami — visited a TMC polling camp in the evening and sat for tea with rival activists. 'Why should personal relationships be destroyed?' he asked. The gesture was small, but it held.
Results come on May 4. The turnout is historic. The context is contested. Whether the outcome will be accepted as legitimate — by the losing side, by the public, by history — remains the question the numbers alone cannot answer.
West Bengal's second phase of voting concluded on Wednesday with a turnout of 92.47 percent—a historic figure that exceeded even the first phase's already impressive participation. Across 142 constituencies, from Kolkata's crowded urban wards to the agricultural districts of Purba Bardhaman, voters came out in numbers that officials said had not been seen since independence. Purba Bardhaman led the way at 93.39 percent, while even Kolkata's South district, typically more reserved, crossed 87 percent. The Chief Electoral Officer called it a festival, a celebration of democracy. People who had never voted before lined up in the rain. Families came together. It was, by the numbers, a vindication of the democratic process.
But the day unfolded under a shadow. Seven hundred companies of paramilitary forces—the Central Reserve Police Force and other central armed police—remained deployed across the state, a presence so heavy that it became the story itself. The second phase voting happened not in the ordinary rhythm of an election, but under what one observer called "a different kind of election." Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress candidate from Bhabanipur, alleged that central forces were acting as a "private army" for the BJP, manhandling voters and intimidating her party's workers. She claimed that women and children had been beaten, that her polling agents were being driven from booths, that the process was neither free nor fair. The BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, her rival in Bhabanipur and the Leader of the Opposition, dismissed these claims as signs of her desperation, saying she knew she had lost.
The accusations flew in both directions. The BJP alleged that the TMC had covered its party symbols on electronic voting machines with tape and ink at multiple booths, particularly in the Falta area under Diamond Harbour constituency. They demanded repoll in affected booths. The Election Commission said it would investigate and order repoll if tampering was confirmed. The TMC countered that the BJP was using the massive security deployment to suppress their vote. One TMC general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, alleged that an elderly man in Udaynarayanpur had died after central forces manhandled him and his son as they tried to vote. He claimed the forces had been "unleashed on the people of Bengal" to suppress the democratic process. The CRPF denied the characterization but did not directly address the death allegation.
Throughout the day, scattered violence erupted. A BJP polling agent in Nadia was attacked and required six stitches. A BJP candidate in Basanti alleged that 200 to 250 TMC workers attacked his car with rods and bamboo sticks. A TMC candidate from Bhangar said police had conducted lathi charges against his supporters. At a booth in Bally, Howrah, an alleged EVM malfunction sparked a clash; CRPF detained two people. Crude bombs were recovered near a polling booth in Purba Bardhaman. The incidents were scattered, not systemic, but they accumulated into a picture of an election conducted under tension.
The exit polls, released as voting ended, predicted a significant advantage for the BJP—a projection that would represent a historic shift in a state the Trinamool Congress has controlled since 2011. But the TMC dismissed the projections outright. Derek O'Brien, a TMC Rajya Sabha member, pointed to the 2021 exit polls, which had predicted a close contest between the two parties. The actual result: TMC won 215 seats, BJP 77. "Exit polls generally play it safe by calling it a close contest in Bengal," said another TMC leader, Saket Gokhale. "Except that mandates in Bengal are never close. They're always decisive." The party's confidence, or its defiance, rested on the memory of being underestimated before.
Amid the acrimony, a small moment of grace emerged in Nadia district. A BJP candidate, Shruti Shekhar Goswami, a Hindu preacher, visited a TMC polling camp in the evening and sat down for tea with rival activists. "Everyone is free to do politics throughout the day," he told reporters, "but in the evening, people of different political beliefs should be able to sit together. Why should personal relationships be destroyed?" The TMC workers appreciated the gesture. It was a reminder that beneath the machinery of electoral combat, human connection persisted.
Results are scheduled for May 4. Until then, the state waits. The turnout numbers suggest an engaged electorate, a people invested in the outcome. But the manner of the voting—under heavy security, amid allegations of misconduct from both sides, with sporadic violence and at least one death—has left the victory, when it comes, shadowed by questions about whether it will be seen as legitimate. The numbers are historic. The context is contested.
Notable Quotes
People celebrated it like a festival. Historic voting has taken place in Kolkata. Even those who never used to vote came out to vote this time.— West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal
The atrocities by the central forces are unprecedented. What is happening is not at all free and fair polls.— Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
Exit polls generally play it safe by calling it a close contest in Bengal. Except that mandates in Bengal are never close. They're always decisive.— TMC leader Saket Gokhale
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the turnout spike so dramatically in the second phase? Was there something specific that drove people out?
The Chief Electoral Officer said people treated it like a festival. But I think the security deployment itself may have been a factor. The massive presence of central forces—700 companies of them—created a sense that voting would be protected, that you could cast your ballot without fear of intimidation. For some voters, that was liberating. For others, it felt coercive.
The exit polls predicted a BJP win, but the TMC dismissed them immediately. Do they have reason to be confident, or is that just politics?
They have a point about 2021. The exit polls that year were wildly off. But dismissing exit polls entirely is also a political move—it's preparing the ground for contesting the result if it goes against them. The truth is, no one knows yet. The turnout was historic, but historic turnout doesn't always favor one party over another.
There were allegations of deaths, beatings, EVM tampering. How serious are these?
Serious enough that they'll be investigated. The death allegation in Udaynarayanpur is the most grave—if central forces did manhandle someone to death, that's a fundamental breach of democratic conduct. The EVM tampering allegations are more technical but also significant. If machines were tampered with, the entire result becomes questionable. The scattered violence—the attacks on candidates, the lathi charges—those are concerning but not unprecedented in Bengal elections.
What does the moment with the BJP candidate and the TMC workers over tea actually mean?
It means that even in a bitterly contested election, human decency can still exist. It's a small thing, but it matters. It suggests that the political divide, however deep, doesn't have to destroy all bonds. In a state where elections have often turned violent, that gesture was a quiet act of resistance to the logic of total conflict.
If the BJP wins, will the result be accepted as legitimate?
That depends on what happens between now and May 4. If the investigations into the death, the EVM tampering, and the alleged misconduct by central forces find credible evidence of serious wrongdoing, then no—the result will be contested. If they find nothing substantial, then the TMC will have to accept it, though they may claim the security deployment skewed the outcome. Legitimacy in elections isn't just about the numbers. It's about whether people believe the process was fair.