The second phase of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections began on Wednesday, with polling taking place across 142 constituencies. In this phase, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari in the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata. Voting started at 7 a.m. Indian time, following a mock polling process that began at 5 a.m. to verify the proper functioning of voting machines in the presence of candidates’ representatives.

The first phase of the election was held on April 23 across 152 constituencies, and the overall process was largely peaceful except for a few isolated incidents. The Election Commission reported a record voter turnout of 93.19 percent in the first phase. The results for all 294 constituencies in the state are scheduled to be announced on May 4.

The Election Commission has stated that it is taking measures to ensure free and fair polling in the second and final phase, with close attention on how the voting process unfolds across the state.