A vendor arranges various political parties' flags for sale for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, in Kolkata on March 15, 2026
| Photo Credit: ANI Marking a departure from the earlier trend of multiple-phase elections, the Election Commission of India on Sunday (March 15, 2026) announced that elections to the West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases. In the first phase on April 23, 152 Assembly constituencies will go to polls, and the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29. This is a sharp contrast to the eight-phase Assembly election in 2021 amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly elections in 2016 and in 2011 were held in six phases. The major political parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have welcomed the two-phase polls. “How many phases will it take for the people of Bengal to decisively reject Bangla-Birodhi @BJP4India once and for all? Answer – Jotoi Koro Hamla, #AbarJitbeBangla (the party’s slogan for the polls) #BoycottBJP,” the Trinamool posted on social media after the announcement of Assembly elections.
Published: March 15, 2026 4:55 pm
Source: The Hindu — Read original