West Bengal Election 2026 Phase 2 Voting LIVE: 18.39% voting till 9 a.m. amid reports of violence during early hours

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday visited various booths where voting was going on in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency and alleged that central forces and election observers were acting at the behest of the BJP.

Bhabanipur Assembly segment is Ms Banerjee’s political stronghold, where she faces Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari in a prestige battle seen as a symbolic rematch from Nandigram, where she defeated him in 2021.

The TMC chief, who usually leaves his home in Kalighat on the afternoon of election day to vote at Mitra Institution School, went out before 8 am and visited many polling stations in his constituency, including south Kolkata’s Chetla district.

He later sat outside a polling station at Chakraberia in Bhabanipur and spoke to reporters, alleging irregularities and accusing the BJP of trying to influence the voting process through central forces and observers.

“A large number of observers have come from outside and are acting on the instructions of the BJP. People need to vote, can voting like this be done?” Ms. Banerjee said.

He also claimed that all TMC party flags were removed in advance and that an outsider was interfering in the voting process.

“They are not letting the councilor of ward 70 go out. They are taking all our boys. Abhishek and I stayed awake all night,” he said.

– PTI