Eggs-plained: How egging became a mode of protest
Ever since Suvendu Adhikari-led government came into power, there have been multiple instances of angry citizens pelting eggs on Trinamool Congress leaders.
Besides a few sporadic incidents of EVM malfunctioning, the polling in the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026 on Wednesday, April 29, remained largely peaceful, with updated figures from the Election Commission of India (ECI) indicating a significantly higher voter participation by mid-morning.
Till 11 a.m., data shared by the electoral body stated that West Bengal recorded an overall voter turnout of 39.97 per cent. Among districts, East Burdwan recorded the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, while Hooghly registered a strong turnout of 43.12 per cent, placing it among the top-performing districts.
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In the state capital Kolkata, updated constituency-wise figures showed Rashbehari Assembly constituency recording a voter turnout of 38.05 per cent, while Bhabanipur registered 37.27 per cent by 11 a.m.
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During the initial two hours of polling, the overall turnout stood at 18.39 per cent, with district-wise trends showing Purba Bardhaman leading at 20.86 per cent and Hooghly at 20.16 per cent. However, these early-hour figures were later superseded by the mid-morning update indicating a sharper rise in participation.
Nadia recorded 18.50 per cent turnout in the early phase, North 24 Parganas registered 17.81 per cent and Howrah at 17.76 per cent. South 24 Parganas saw 17.25 per cent polling, Kolkata North 17.28 per cent, and Kolkata South recorded the lowest at 16.81 percent in the initial trend.
Major EVM malfunctioning incidents
Despite the encouraging turnout figures, several EVM-related glitches were reported from multiple constituencies, causing temporary disruptions and brief voter unrest.
In Bali Assembly constituency, voters became agitated at booths in Don Bosco and Liluah Sohanlal Vidyalaya due to malfunctioning machines, prompting central forces to resort to a mild lathi charge to control the situation. A Trinamool Congress agent was injured, and two individuals were detained.
Similar complaints of faulty EVMs were reported from booth number 46 in Baruipur Purba, where voting was delayed for nearly an hour, and from booth number 69 in Nabadwip, where polling had to be halted before it even began due to technical issues.
Apart from EVM malfunctions, isolated incidents of law and order disruptions were also reported from pockets of Hooghly and Howrah.
Tension prevailed in Singur where Trinamool Congress candidate Becharam Manna led a protest and gheraoed a local police station late at night.
In Shyampukur, police dispersed a gathering within 100 meters of a polling booth by brandishing lathis, ensuring compliance with election norms.
What’s at stake?
In the second phase of polling, 142 constituencies are in the fray. These constituencies are spread over eight key districts — Kolkata North (7 seats), Kolkata South (4), North 24 Parganas (33), South 24 Parganas (31), Howrah (16), Nadia (17), Hooghly (18), and Purba Bardhaman (16).
The presence of international and riverine borders in three of these districts has added to the complexity of both political campaigning and security arrangements.
A total of 3,21,73,837 voters, including 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women, and 792 third-gender voters, are eligible to cast their votes across 41,001 polling stations, all under webcasting surveillance to ensure transparency.
With a high-stakes electoral battle underway and robust security measures in place, authorities remain hopeful that the remaining hours of polling will continue in a peaceful manner while maintaining the strong turnout momentum witnessed so far.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
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