West Bengal Elections 2026 Phase 1 Voting LIVE: Voting begins for first phase of polls

Voting began at 7 am, with voters lining up in front of polling booths in districts stretching from Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri in the north to Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum and Hooghly in the south.

The opening round covers more than half of the state’s 294 Assembly seats and is seen as the best opportunity for the BJP to make an early breakthrough and the most important test of the ruling Trinamool Congress for a fourth consecutive term.

According to the Election Commission, 3.60 crore voters, including around 1.75 crore women and 465 third gender voters, are eligible to vote in this phase.

The Election Commission has placed districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Birbhum and Purba Bardhaman under special surveillance.

-PTI