Voting will be held on 152 seats in 16 districts on April 23 for the first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections. These include eight districts of North Bengal, three of South Bengal and 5 of Jangalmahal region. Voting during the first phase will start from 7 am, which will continue till 6 pm. However, in some sensitive areas the timings may be slightly changed due to security reasons (e.g. till 5 pm), but generally voting starts at 7 pm.

The first phase includes most of the districts of South and West Bengal. These include districts like Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, West Medinipur, East Medinipur and South 24 Parganas. Apart from this, voting will also be held on some seats of Kolkata and Howrah in this phase. There are many seats in these areas which are much discussed and are considered very important politically. Like Nandigram, Kharagpur, Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram. These seats usually see tough competition.

Also read: Bengal Election 2026: Himanta Biswa Sarma roared in Bengal, said- ‘100 percent BJP government is being formed because…’

Why is the first phase of elections special?

The first phase is also considered special because it sets the tone for the entire election. The results here give an idea of ​​which party can get the upper hand in the next stages. Especially a direct contest is seen between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP. Apart from this, many areas falling in this phase are rural and tribal areas, where the voting pattern and issues are different from the rest of the cities. Therefore, the voting pattern here also appears different and this makes the elections interesting.

hot seat of west bengal

There are many seats in the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 which are most discussed and are being considered as hot seats. The credibility of big leaders is at stake on these seats and the competition is looking very tough. Bhawanipur seat is being discussed the most. This seat is considered very important because Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting elections from here. BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari is in front of him, due to which this contest has become direct and very interesting. This is being seen as a fight for power and prestige.

Panihati seat in headlines

Panihati seat is also in the headlines this time. This seat comes in North 24 Parganas district. This seat came into limelight after a recent major criminal case. BJP has fielded the victim’s mother Ratna Debnath here, while Tirthankar Ghosh is in the fray from TMC’s side. Because of this, elections here have become important at both emotional and political levels. Nandigram seat is also in the center once again. Earlier this area was considered to be the strong bastion of Mamata Banerjee, but now due to the challenge of Suvendu Adhikari, the competition has become very tough. Everyone’s eyes are on this seat. Many seats in Malda and Murshidabad districts are also special this time. The contest here is not direct but has become three-way, because Congress is also contesting the elections separately. Despite TMC’s dominance, the contest is considered interesting and uncertain.

Also read: Assembly Election 2026 Live: CM Mamata Banerjee’s big allegation on BJP, said- ‘My plane was stopped on the runway for 30 minutes, selected officials…’

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) released the list of its candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections on Tuesday (17 March 2026). Trinamool Chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that the party will contest 291 seats out of 294 seats in the state. He said that Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) led by Anit Thapa will contest on three seats.

How many Muslim candidates are in TMC’s list?

This list released by the party includes the names of many senior TMC leaders of West Bengal including Mamata Banerjee, who have been made candidates. Let us tell you that CM Mamata Banerjee will contest against BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari from Bhawanipur assembly seat. Party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that out of 291 TMC candidates in the West Bengal elections, 52 are women, 95 are Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe and 47 are minorities.

CM Mamata’s assurance to party workers

TMC has fielded Farhad Hakim from Kolkata Port, Kunal Ghosh from Beleghata seat, Jyotipriyo Mallik from Habra seat. CM Mamata Banerjee claimed to win more than 226 seats in the 2026 assembly elections. The Chief Minister also tried to reassure those party leaders and workers who could not find a place in the list of candidates. He said that such leaders will be accommodated in the organization.

TMC played a bet in front of Shubhendu Adhikari

Pabitra Kar, who recently joined TMC, has been given ticket from Nandigram, where he will also face Subhendu Adhikari. BJP has given tickets to Shubhendu Adhikari from both Nandigram and Bhawanipur assembly seats. Along with this, Sabina Yasmin will contest from Sujapur seat, Zakir Hussain from Jangipur seat, Byron Biswas from Sagardighi seat, Udayan Guha from Dinhata seat.

Gautam from Siliguri seat, Ashish Marjeet from Khagram, Soham Chakraborty from Karimpur seat, Apoorva Sarkar from Kandi seat, Sangeeta Roy Basunia from Sitai seat, Abhinav Bhattacharya from Krishnanagar North seat, Pundrikaksh Saha from Navadweep, Rajeev Biswas from Haringhata seat, Bina Mandal from Swaroopnagar seat, Sapna Barman from Rajganj seat, Jyotipriya Mallik from Howrah seat, Krishnanagar Nagar South seat. Ujjwal Vishwas, Saugata Kumar Barman will contest from Ranaghat South seat, Atindranath Mandal will contest from Kalyani seat.

The hold of Muslim voters is strong in these districts

Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, Muslim voters play a decisive role in about 40 to 45 assembly constituencies. Muslim population is highest in districts like Malda, Birbhum, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur and South 24 Parganas. In many assembly constituencies of these districts, more than half of the total voters are Muslims.

Who got the chance on Humayun Kabir’s seat?

TMC has fielded Mustafizur Rahman from Bharatpur seat of Murshidabad district. TMC’s Himayun Kabir was the MLA from this seat, who had created the Babri controversy. After the announcement of construction of Babri Masjid in Beldanga of Murshidabad district, TMC had expelled Himayun Kabir from the party. After being expelled from TMC, he had claimed to form a new party.