BJP leader Arjun Singh accuses TMC of electoral malpractice, alleging a dummy EVM was placed outside a booth in Mayapally to influence voters. The incident occurred as West Bengal recorded an 18.39% voter turnout till 9 am in the second phase.
BJP leader and former MP Arjun Singh on Wednesday accused the Trinamool Congress of interfering in the election process by placing a dummy EVM outside a polling booth. Singh told ANI that a false EVM was kept outside booth no. 82-83 in Mayapally (Noapara Assembly Constituency), and voters were being instructed which button to press. "We had received information that a false (dummy) EVM was placed outside booth number 82-83 in Mayapally (Noapara Assembly Constituency), and voters were told which button to press," he said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 18.39 per cent until 9 am on Wednesday, as polling for the remaining 142 seats across the state commenced earlier in the day. Purba Bardhaman stands at the top, with a voting percentage of 20.86%, followed by Hooghly, which has witnessed 20.16% polling until 9 am on Wednesday. 18.50 percent polling has taken place in Nadia; meanwhile, North 24 Paraganas 17.81% votes. Kolkata North and Kolkata South have experienced 17.28% and 16.81% polling respectively, whereas 17.76 percent voting has taken place in Howrah.
High-Stakes Second Phase
The main fight in West Bengal in the 2026 elections is between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Earlier in the day, West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari inspected the polling booths in Bhabanipur constituency. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote at the Mitra Institute polling booth in Bhabanipur.
The second phase of the polling is widely seen as the 'litmus test' for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), as voting moves into the party's traditional fortresses in South Bengal and Kolkata. The second phase covers 142 out of 294 seats in West Bengal. The total electorate is around 3.21 crore, with 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 transgender voters. 1,448 candidates are in the fray, including 220 women at 41,001 polling stations, with over 8,000 managed entirely by women.
While 142 seats are up for grabs, all eyes are on the 'Big Five' urban contests. Apart from the high-stakes seat of Bhabanipur, Tollyganj, the heart of the Bengali film industry, is a high-profile, star-studded battle. (ANI)
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