Over 3 cr voters to decide fate of 1448 candidates amid heavy CAPF cover

The stage is set for the second and final phase of elections on Wednesday, with 3.21 crore electors set to decide the fate of 1,448 candidates — 1,228 men and 220 women — across 142 Assembly constituencies.

- SOUMITRA NANDI

The electorate comprises 1.64 crore men, 1.57 crore women and 792 transgender voters.

The constituencies are spread across eight districts of south Bengal — Kolkata North (7 seats), Kolkata South (4), North 24 Parganas (33), South 24 Parganas (31), Howrah (16), Nadia (17), Hooghly (18) and East Burdwan (16). The presence of international and riverine borders in three districts poses both political and security challenges. Polling will be held in 41,001 stations, including 39,301 main and 1,700 auxiliary booths. Bhangar in South 24-Parganas has the highest number of candidates (19), while Goghat in Hooghly has the lowest (5).

In terms of electorate size, Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas has the smallest voter base at 1.17 lakh, while Chinsurah in Hooghly has the highest at over 2.75 lakh.

Arrangements include 8,845 all-women-managed booths, 13 PwD-managed stations and 258 model polling stations. A total of 55,331 ballot units, 55,162 control units and 59,463 VVPAT machines will be deployed.