April 1, 2021: Twenty-seven constituencies going to the polls in the second phase of Assam elections have an electorate between 1.5 and 2 lakh while all constituencies in the second phase of West Bengal have over two lakh voters. The second phase of assembly polls in the two states will be held on April 1.

Election Commission data shows that two constituencies in Assam has voters between 1 to 1.5 lakh and 10 have over 2 lakh voters. No constituency in the two states has less than one lakh voters.

In West Bengal, a total of 30 assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur will go to polls in the second phase of the eight-phased Assembly elections in West Bengal. There are 171 candidates in the fray and 19 of them are women.

The prized seat of Nandigram will also go the polls in this phase. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is taking on her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined the BJP in December last year. Adhikari had earlier said that he will quit politics if BJP does not defeat the TMC supremo by 50,000 votes in Nandigram. Section 144 was imposed in Nandigram on Wednesday as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward or violent incident during the voting process.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the poll and 800 companies of security forces have been deployed for second phase polling in the state. Twenty-two of these companies have been deployed in Nandigram alone.

Actor-turned-politicians Soham Chakraborty and Sayantika Banerjee contesting for Chandipur and Bankura respectively from TMC while actor Hiranmoy Chattopadhyay is contesting from Kharagpur Sadar in Paschim Medinipur as a BJP candidate. In the Moyna constituency in Purba Medinipur, BJP has fielded cricketer Ashok Dinda against TMC's Sangram Kumar Dolui and Congress' Manik Bhownik.

In Haldia, sitting MLA Tapasi Mondal who was earlier with CPI(M) but later joined BJP in 2020 is contesting against TMC's Swapan Naskaran and CPI(M)'s Manika Kar Paik. Over 75.94 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the second phase.

In Assam, 39 constituencies including Karimganj North, Karimganj South, Lakhipur, Silchar, Badarpur, Jagiroad, Laharighat, Nalbari, Kamalpur, and Nowgong across 13 districts will go to polls in the second phase of the three-phased elections. The election in the second phase includes 15 assembly seats in the Barak Valley. In the 2016 polls, BJP had bagged eight seats six from Cachar district and two from bordering Karimganj district, which shares boundary with Bangladesh.

Assam Minister Parimal Suklabaidya is contesting from the Dholai seat for the seventh time on a BJP ticket. State minister Piyush Hazarika is contesting from Jagiroad and Bhabesh Kalita, also a minister, from the Rangia seat. Former Congress minister Gautam Roy is contesting from Katigorah on a BJP ticket, while former Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul, who resigned from the BJP after he was denied ticket, is contesting as an Independent from Silchar.

Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary is contesting from Panery and former Asam Sahitya Sabha President Paramananda Rajbongshi is trying his luck from Sipajhar. Former Assam Minister for Hill Areas Development, Mines and Minerals and Congress leader Sum Ronghang is in the fray from the Diphu seat.

Over 73.44 lakh voters are eligible to cast votes in the second phase of the election. A total of 310 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies and 90 companies of Assam state police have been deployed for the second phase of the state elections. (ANI)