Democracy Delivers Verdict: Bengal Phase 2 Records High Turnout, Exit Polls Predict Photo Finish

West Bengal completed the second and final phase of its 2026 Assembly Elections on Wednesday, with voters turning out in exceptional numbers across 142 constituencies spanning South Bengal, Kolkata, and its surrounding districts. The Election Commission put the second phase turnout at 91.57% , comfortably surpassing the state's 2021 record of 80.4% . Combined with the first phase on April 23 , which recorded 93.19% , the highest in the state's history since Independence, West Bengal has delivered one of the most remarkable voter participation stories in Indian electoral history this cycle.

The second phase covered 142 of the state's 294 assembly seats across seven districts, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Kolkata, Hooghly, and Purba Bardhaman. The total electorate stood at 3.21 crore , including over 1.64 crore men, 1.57 crore women, and 792 transgender voters, with 4.12 lakh first time voters casting their ballot for the very first time. A total of 1,448 candidates , including 220 women, contested across 41,001 polling stations , over 8,000 of which were managed entirely by women. District wise figures through the afternoon reflected consistent and broad based participation, Purba Bardhaman led at 83.11% by mid afternoon, followed by Hooghly at 80.77%, Nadia at 79.79%, Kolkata North at 78%, South 24 Parganas at 76.75%, and Kolkata South at 75.38%, with numbers climbing steeply through the evening.

The stakes in this phase were particularly significant for both parties. In 2021, the TMC dominated these 142 seats, winning 123 of them . For Mamata Banerjee’s party , holding South Bengal and Kolkata means holding power. For the BJP , making inroads here among urban bhadralok voters, the Matua community, and in constituencies long considered TMC fortresses was always going to be the difference between government and opposition.

The most closely watched contest of the day was Bhabanipur , where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces BJP’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in a rematch loaded with political symbolism. Adhikari arrived at polling stations in the constituency in the morning, inspected booths, and offered prayers at a local Hanuman temple. Mamata Banerjee, speaking after polling concluded, said her party would form the government with a two thirds majority and that the BJP was losing across Bengal. TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee , who voted at Mitra Institute in Bhabanipur, was equally bullish, predicting the BJP would drop to 50 seats and pointing to 2021 as proof that the TMC consistently outperforms projections. Adhikari, contesting from Nandigram simultaneously, urged all Hindus to vote for the BJP and expressed confidence that high turnout signalled a shift in the state's political direction.

The day was, however, marked by a series of incidents that have come to characterise Bengal elections. Clashes between BJP and TMC polling agents broke out at a station in Khanakul in Hooghly district, though voting resumed shortly after. Violence flared in Nadia's Hatra Bazaar area between TMC and ISF workers, resulting in arrests, with Congress candidate Ashif Khan separately alleging voter intimidation. BJP candidate Bikash Sardar alleged his vehicle was attacked by a large group of TMC workers armed with rods and bamboo sticks, while a BJP polling agent was attacked at a booth in Canning in South 24 Parganas.

On the EVM front, the BJP alleged that buttons were found taped at polling booths in Falta under Diamond Harbour constituency, prompting the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer to confirm that any booth where such tampering is verified would face repolling. The TMC hit back, with a candidate from Canning Paschim alleging that CRPF personnel beat and dragged a party polling agent out of a booth. NIA officials were deployed across seven sensitive seats, including Kasba, Bhangar, Baruipur, and Bishnupur, to prevent bomb-related disruptions. Union Minister Prahlad Joshi raised concerns from New Delhi, pointing to what he called a recurring pattern of electoral violence in West Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said voters were casting their ballots in a fearless atmosphere that would have been unimaginable in past decades.

With the Election Commission’s embargo lifting at 6:30 PM, exit poll projections for all 294 seats began streaming in, and they present a deeply divided picture. Five of the six major agencies favour the BJP crossing or touching the majority mark of 148 . Chanakya Strategies projects BJP at 150–160 and TMC at 130–140. Matrize puts BJP at 146–161 and TMC at 125–140. Poll Diary gives BJP its widest upper range at 142–171. P-Marq projects BJP at 150–175. JVC offers the tightest contest, BJP at 138–159 and TMC at 131–152. The sole outlier is Peoples Pulse , projecting a TMC landslide of 178–187 seats.

The Times of India Poll of Polls average settles at BJP 149, TMC 140, Others 5, placing the BJP just one seat above the majority mark. It is, in the most literal sense, on a knife’s edge.

That single seat margin is precisely why Bengal will dominate every television screen and political conversation between now and May 4. The exit poll landscape is not merely close, it is contradictory. One agency sees a TMC landslide. Most others see a BJP government. The truth, as West Bengal has repeatedly demonstrated, may confound them all.

Wednesday also marked the conclusion of the broader 2026 Assembly Election cycle across the country. Kerala exit polls point to a change of government, with the Congress led UDF projected to unseat Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ’s Left Democratic Front. In Assam, the BJP looks set for another term under Himanta Biswa Sarma . Tamil Nadu has thrown up a dramatic story with Thalapathy Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerging as a major disruptor in its debut election. Puducherry is projected as a narrow NDA win over the Congress DMK combine.

Five states. One union territory. Hundreds of millions of votes. All of it comes down to May 4 .

All exit poll figures are projections and not official results. Counting begins May 4, 2026 .