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Voting for the concluding phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections will take place on Wednesday, covering 142 constituencies across Kolkata and six other districts. Authorities have put extensive security measures in place for the exercise.
Polling teams dispatched Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units, and other necessary materials to their designated stations on Tuesday.
According to data from the Election Commission of India, the constituencies involved account for 3,21,73,837 registered voters, representing roughly 64 per cent of the total population of 5,00,13,786 in these areas. Among them are 1,64,35,627 male voters, 1,57,37,418 female voters, and 792 voters identified as third gender.
Officials confirmed that all registered voters possess Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs).
The electorate includes 3,243 individuals aged 100 years or above and 1,96,801 voters aged over 85. Additionally, there are 146 Non-Resident Indian voters and 39,961 service voters.
A total of 1,448 candidates are contesting this phase. Of these, 1,228 are men, and 220 are women, with no candidates from the third gender category.
Out of the 142 constituencies, 107 fall under the general category, 34 are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and one is reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Bhangar in South 24 Parganas has the highest number of candidates at 15, whereas Hooghly district records the lowest, with five candidates.
The districts involved include Kolkata, Nadia, East Burdwan, Hooghly, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, and Howrah.
In terms of geographical size, Jorasanko in Kolkata is the smallest constituency at 3.48 square kilometres. Kalyani in Nadia is the largest, spanning 135 square kilometres.
Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas has the smallest electorate at 1,17,195 voters, while Chuchura in Hooghly has the largest, with 2,75,715 voters.
Only six constituencies have between one lakh and 1.5 lakh voters. Seventeen fall in the 1.5 lakh to two lakh range. The remaining 120 constituencies each have more than two lakh voters.
A total of 41,001 polling stations have been set up, including 39,301 main stations and 1,700 auxiliary stations.
Security deployment includes 2,407 companies of central forces, supported by state police units and personnel from other regions. Webcasting will monitor all polling stations.
Counting of votes will, however, take place on May 4.
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