The West Bengal assembly elections will be held in multiple phases, announced the Election Commission of India on Sunday. The state has 294 assembly seats, where the All India Trinamool Congress is the ruling party and the BJP is the main opposition party. The Congress and the Left have been finding it hard to hold the grounds in the state for the past two assembly elections. In 2021, the 294 seats went to the polls in eight phases, while this year, the polling will be held in two phases.
According to the Election Commission of India, the West Bengal Assembly will vote on April 23 in the first phase and April 29 for the second phase. and with the vote counting scheduled for May 4.
Bengal Election 2026 Full Schedule
West Bengal – First Phase (152 Assembly Constituencies)
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: 30.03.2026 (Monday)
Last Date for making Nominations: 06.04.2026 (Monday)
Date for the Scrutiny of Nominations: 07.04.2026 (Tuesday)
Last Date for Withdrawal of Candidatures: 09.04.2026 (Thursday)
Date of Poll: 23.04.2026 (Thursday)
Date of Counting: 04.05.2026 (Monday)
Date before which Election shall be completed: 06.05.2026 (Wednesday)
West Bengal – Second Phase (142 Assembly Constituencies)
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: 02.04.2026 (Thursday)
Last Date for making Nominations: 09.04.2026 (Thursday)
Date for the Scrutiny of Nominations: 10.04.2026 (Friday)
Last Date for Withdrawal of Candidatures: 13.04.2026 (Monday)
Date of Poll: 29.04.2026 (Wednesday)
Date of Counting: 04.05.2026 (Monday)
Date before which Election shall be completed: 06.05.2026 (Wednesday)
Bengal Election 2026 Vote Counting Day
The counting of votes for the 294 seats of the West Bengal assembly will take place on May 4. The result will decide the future course of state politics, where the BJP is looking to dethrone Mamata Banerjee.
Bengal Election Key Candidates
The key candidates in the state assembly elections include Mamata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Swapan Debnath, Javed Ahmed Khan, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Suvendu Adhikari, Shankar Ghosh, Anup Saha, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Dinda and Ashok Lahiri.
West Bengal Assembly Election: Total Voters
According to the ECI, West Bengal has around 6.44 crore total voters, with roughly 3.28 crore male voters, 3.16 crore female voters, and 1,152 third-gender voters.
West Bengal Assembly Election: 2021 Result
In the fiercely contested 2021 polls, the BJP won only 77 seats, while the TMC retained power with 213 seats in the 294-member assembly. However, several defections took TMC’s tally to 223 while the BJP’s MLA tally reduced to 64 seats.
