West Bengal Phase 2 Voting Puts Mamata Banerjee's Bhabanipur Seat at Stake as BJP Challenges TMC Strongholds

West Bengal, the biggest among the five states that went to polls and the only one with its final phase still pending, is drawing huge attention as results are set to be announced on May 4. Even before that, all eyes are on the exit polls, which will start coming in from the evening of April 29. As per Election Commission rules, exit poll projections will be released after 6:30 pm on April 29.

After a record voter turnout of nearly 93% in Phase 1, the state is now heading into Phase 2, where 142 seats are up for voting. Most of these seats are in areas considered strongholds of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, but the BJP, currently the main opposition, is making a strong push to break into these regions. Phase 2 will cover the remaining constituencies of the 294-seat assembly, making it a crucial round.

One of the most important seats in this phase is Bhabanipur, Mamata Banerjee's bastion, where she is facing a challenge from strong BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. In Phase 1, voting took place in 152 constituencies on April 23, with very high participation across regions. This has increased excitement and curiosity about the final results.

Some of the key leaders in the fray include Mamata Banerjee, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Shashi Panja and Aroop Biswas from the TMC, while the BJP has fielded leaders like Suvendu Adhikari, Swapan Dasgupta and Rupa Ganguly.