Over 9.3 crore voters across Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are set to decide the fate of thousands of candidates in high-stakes assembly elections, amid heightened security and digital vigilance. While Tamil Nadu’s contest pits the DMK-led SPA against the AIADMK-led NDA, West Bengal’s election is increasingly defined by debates over citizenship and identity, with the BJP and TMC battling for control of key regions. Both states are witnessing extensive election preparations, from electronic voting machine deployment to enforcement against inducements and misinformation.
The number game
In Tamil Nadu, more than 5.73 crore voters will cast their ballots for 4,023 candidates on April 23. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin seeks to retain power against AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami while actor Vijay's TVK brings triangular contest to many seats. Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik highlighted that the state has 2.93 crore women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender voters. Among these, 14.59 lakh are first-time voters. Voting will occur across 75,064 polling stations using 1,06,418 ballot units and VVPAT machines, with a 20 per cent reserve for EVMs and 30 per cent for VVPATs to tackle technical delays.
Meanwhile, West Bengal’s first phase will cover 152 of 294 seats and over 3.6 crore voters are eligible to vote on Thursday. Of these, 1.8 crore are male voters, while 1.7 crore are female voters and 465 voters belong to the third gender. New voters aged 18-19 include 4.05 lakh, with 2.3 lakh male voters and 1.71 lakh women. There are a total of 63.6 lakh senior citizen voters.
Rs 1,000 crore worth materials seized
The Election Commission said on Wednesday that enforcement authorities have recovered freebies and allurements worth Rs 1072.13 crore in the two states since February 26. These include Rs 127.67 crore in cash, nearly 41,000 litres of liquor worth Rs 106.3 crore, drugs worth nearly Rs 184 crore and precious metals such as gold and silver worth Rs 215 crore. Measures have been taken to counter misinformation, issue postal ballots, and facilitate home voting for elderly voters.
Highly sensitive poll stations
In Tamil Nadu, 5,949 polling booths in 3,025 locations have been identified as highly sensitive. The ECI has deployed 300 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) across the state and they will work alongside 83,875 local polling police personnel.
In West Bengal, the ECI announced deployment of 2,450 companies of central forces across 152 constituencies. These will comprise nearly 2.5 lakh personnel. More than 8,000 polling stations have been identified as highly sensitive.
Key constituencies and candidates to watch
The key constituencies in Tamil Nadu include M.K. Stalin's bastion Kolathur, AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami's home turf Edappadi and Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni where Udhayanidhi Stalin contests. Actor Vijay will contest in Perambur and Tiruchy East. O. Panneerselvam has been fielded in his stronghold Bodinayakkanur but this time he is contesting on DMK ticket instead of AIADMK.
The BJP aims to retain north Bengal, its gateway to power, while the TMC seeks to prevent a BJP surge. The unresolved Gorkha issue dominates Darjeeling and Kalimpong while tea garden wages and unemployment are the main issue in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. Rajbanshi identity influences Cooch Behar and Mathabhanga, while citizenship debates dominate Malda and Uttar Dinajpur. Key battles include Nandigram, where Suvendu Adhikari faces a former ally turned TMC candidate, and Baharampur, where Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury contests BJP’s Subrata Maitra.