West Bengal Elections 2026: Phase 2 polling seat preview and key constituencies india news

Last updated:April 27, 2026, 21:00 IST

The elections in West Bengal will enter its most crucial phase, with 142 constituencies going to polls on April 29.

West Bengal Elections 2026: The first phase of the hectic West Bengal Assembly elections concluded with a record 92% voting. Now, the election will enter its most important phase during the second phase, with 142 constituencies across South Bengal and Kolkata going to the polls on April 29, which is expected to play a major role in shaping the political dynamic.

Voting will take place in eight major districts of the state, including Kolkata North, Kolkata North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah. These seats are considered the main strongholds of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing tough competition from BJP.

The stake is high for BJP, because TMC has historically been dominant in these districts. There are key battlegrounds available in the second phase with slim margins, and any win will impact the statewide momentum.

Full list of phase 2 constituencies

This phase includes the main Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongholds including Kolkata and its surrounding urban industrial belts, which have a high female population.

Why is this step important?

This phase is potentially “decisive” as to who will get the chief minister’s chair on May 4. The seats that will go to polls in the second phase include Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Howrah, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman, which have traditionally been TMC strongholds.

In 2021, TMC maintained an impressive performance and won 123 of these 142 seats, while the BJP could only muster 18 seats. South Bengal comprises around 70 assembly constituencies where Muslim population is predominant, and it remains to be seen whether they will go with TMC or vote for other parties.

The Special In-depth Review (SIR) has added a new layer to the political tussle in the second phase. Names of voters have been deleted on a large scale in many Matua-dominated seats of North 24 Parganas, triggering a fierce allegation between the BJP and TMC.

The BJP, which won 77 seats in 2021, has gone all out to break the TMC fortress in South Bengal, with a relentless election campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. The BJP has relied on law and order, illegal infiltration and corruption to challenge the TMC, while Mamata Banerjee, as a woman leader, has tried to counter the external force (bohiragato).

major constituencies

All eyes will be on Bhabanipur, where Mamata Banerjee will take on BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in a ‘make or break’ contest in her home constituency. Last year, Banerjee had won the by-election by a record margin of 58,832 votes after losing to Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram and this time, the contest is expected to be influenced by the SIR process.

In Kolkata Port, senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim is up against BJP candidate Rakesh Singh, with the minority-dominated constituency considered crucial for the ruling party in central Kolkata. Other important seats include Bhatpara, Jagatdal and Barrackpur, Bongaon, Dum Dum, Sandeshkhali, Hingalganj, Ranaghat North and South, Rashbehari, Jadavpur and Ballygunge.

Candidate Profile

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 23% of the candidates – 338 out of 1,445 analyzed – have pending criminal cases, while 295 are facing serious charges.

Among the major parties, the ADR report said 102 out of 141 candidates (72%) of BJP, 49 out of 142 (35%) of TMC, 51 out of 100 (51%) of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and 37 out of 142 (26%) of Indian National Congress have declared criminal cases in their election affidavits.

The report also said that 63 (44%) of the 142 constituencies have been classified as “red alert”, meaning they have three or more candidates with criminal cases.

In terms of assets, the ADR found that 103 out of 142 candidates of Trinamool Congress (73%), 73 out of 141 (52%) of BJP, 36 out of 142 (25%) of Congress and 33 out of 100 (33%) of CPI(M) have declared their assets more than ₹1 crore.

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