Polling began at 7 am on Friday for three constituencies in northern West Bengal as part of the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, according to officials.
The polling, covering Darjeeling, Balurghat, and Raiganj constituencies, is scheduled to continue until 6 pm. A total of 47 candidates, including state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, are vying for the three seats, with 51.17 lakh eligible voters poised to determine their fate.
Across the three constituencies, 5,298 polling stations have been established, with Darjeeling having 1,999, Raiganj 1,730, and Balurghat 1,569, officials stated.
Security arrangements are robust, with 272 companies, equating to 27,200 personnel of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), deployed alongside 12,983 state police personnel for this phase of elections.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured victory in all three seats. Incumbents Sukanta Majumdar and Raju Bista, seeking re-election from Balurghat and Darjeeling respectively, face contenders from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress.
Debasree Chaudhuri, who previously won the Raiganj seat for the BJP, has been fielded as a candidate for Kolkata Dakshin.
In her place, the BJP has nominated Kartick Paul, who will compete against candidates from the TMC and Congress.
The electoral landscape presents high-stakes battles, with Majumdar facing off against TMC's Biplab Mitra in Balurghat, and Bista challenged by TMC's Gopal Lama and Congress's Munish Tamang in Darjeeling.
West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats are scheduled to vote in seven phases, with the first phase for three seats conducted on April 19.
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