Polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal and Assembly elections in Sikkim began on Friday, marking a significant day of voting across both regions.
In West Bengal, voting started at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m. in the constituencies of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri. Around 5.6 million electors are eligible to vote across these three constituencies, which are all reserved seats—Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri for Scheduled Castes and Alipurduar for Scheduled Tribes. The Election Commission (EC) deployed 112 companies of central forces and 4,500 state police personnel in Cooch Behar, considering it a sensitive area due to past incidents of violence. Additionally, 75 companies of central forces and 3,077 state police personnel were deployed in Jalpaiguri, while 2,454 state police personnel and 63 companies of central forces were stationed in Alipurduar.
In Sikkim, voting for 32 Assembly seats and the lone parliamentary seat commenced simultaneously. Voting began at 7 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m. Sikkim’s Chief Electoral Officer, D. Anandan, reported that the state has set up 573 polling stations, including 88 in urban areas and 485 in rural regions. Approximately 7.66% of the 4.64 lakh voters had cast their votes by 9 a.m. on Friday. Thirteen companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were deployed in Sikkim, with five from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and eight from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
Key candidates in the Sikkim Assembly elections include Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, his predecessor Pawan Kumar Chamling, and former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia. In the parliamentary elections, Sitting Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba and SDF’s PD Rai are among 14 candidates competing for the lone seat.
