West Bengal votes Phase 2, 142 seats

West Bengal votes its second and final Assembly phase on April 29, with 142 seats across Kolkata and south Bengal deciding the state’s remaining contests. (thehindu.com) (livemint.com) The phase includes Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur seat and a cluster of Cabinet ministers, legislators and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Kolkata and its suburbs. (thehindu.com) Of the 142 seats, 111 are in the Presidency region, where Trinamool Congress won 96 seats in 2021 and the BJP won 14. Mint reported Trinamool had won 123 of the full 142 seats in the last Assembly election. (thehindu.com) (livemint.com) That makes this phase the main test of whether the BJP can break into Trinamool’s southern and urban strongholds after years of running up its best numbers in north Bengal and border districts. (indianexpress.com) (thehindu.com) The run-up was shaped by Phase 1’s record turnout. Reports put voting on April 23 at about 92.9%, giving both camps fresh reason to claim momentum before the final round. (etnownews.com) (indianexpress.com) Campaigning before Phase 2 turned on law and order, women’s safety, identity politics and governance, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Banerjee all holding rallies in and around Kolkata. (hindustantimes.com) (livemint.com) Trinamool leaders cast the contest as a fight against “outsiders,” while BJP leaders argued the election was a referendum on violence, corruption and women’s security under Banerjee’s government. (msn.com) (hindustantimes.com) Counting for both phases is scheduled for May 4. By then, the question in Bengal will be whether Trinamool held its Kolkata belt or whether the BJP cut deeply enough into it to change the state map. (msn.com) (thehindu.com)