The second phase of elections in the Indian state of West Bengal saw a voter turnout of around 92 percent on Wednesday. Earlier, in the first phase, 93.2 percent of the votes were cast in 152 constituencies in the north on April 23. This is the first time that such a large voter turnout has been recorded in any election in West Bengal.

According to the Indian media Times of India, most exit polls have shown that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win a majority or become the first party this time. A survey conducted by P Mark has predicted that the BJP will win 150-175 seats and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will win 118-138 seats. Polls Diary has estimated that the BJP may win 142-171 seats and the TMC may win 99-127 seats. JVC has shown that the BJP may win 138-159 seats and the TMC may win 131-152 seats.

In the second phase, voting was held in 142 constituencies in the south of Bengal out of 294 assembly seats. Voting took place in major urban areas including the capital Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia and other areas on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that Bengal has conducted its first fear-free elections in 6-7 decades. Modi, who had arrived in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate the Ganga Expressway, targeted Bengal's ruling TMC on Wednesday and said, "Like in the first phase, a large number of voters have come this time too. Social media is filled with pictures of people standing in long queues. Looking at the previous 6-7 decades, it was difficult to imagine that voting would be held in a fear-free environment in Bengal."

TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the central security personnel deployed at polling stations of not acting fairly. "The dictatorship of the central forces is unexpected. There is no fair and independent work being done here," she said after casting her vote at Mitra Institution School in Bhavanipur constituency. She said that TMC would win at least 200 seats out of 294. Earlier in 2021, TMC had won 215 seats. Similarly, the main opposition party BJP had won 77 seats. That is why this time too, it is estimated that the main competition will be between these two parties.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress I, which had won zero seats in the 2021 elections, had also won in some places and had launched an election campaign with the aim of regaining their presence in the assembly.

A total of 68.2 million voters were registered in West Bengal this time. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) brought by the Election Commission removed the names of about 91 lakh people from the voter list. Chief Minister Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of trying to influence the Election Commission and deprive Muslim and minority voters of their right to vote in various states through this policy. She has said that the historic vote in the assembly was cast in protest against this policy.

This month, elections have been held in Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The counting of votes in all these states and territories will begin on May 4. It will also test the public opinion on the policies of the ruling BJP at the Centre and the popularity of opposition parties and regional forces.

The issue of the Delimitation Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 17 by the BJP-led central government to amend the Constitution but failed, was also debated in the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal elections. The opposition has accused it of a conspiracy to divide India on the basis of Hindi language, Hindu identity and religious politics. However, the BJP has claimed that the bill was brought to provide one-third reservation for the dignity of women.