Lok Sabha elections 2024: Polling begins for three seats in northern West Bengal

Kolkata: Polling began at 7 am on Friday for the three constituencies in northern West Bengal in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, officials said.

The polling, being held in Darjeeling, Balurghat and Raiganj constituencies, would continue till 6 pm, they said.

A total of 47 candidates, including state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, are in the fray for the three seats, with 51.17 lakh people eligible to decide their fate.

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Altogether 5,298 polling stations have been set up across the three constituencies.

There are 1,999 polling stations in Darjeeling, 1,730 in Raiganj and 1,569 in Balurghat, officials said.

A total of 272 companies or 27,200 personnel of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), alongside 12,983 state police personnel have been deployed for this phase of elections, they said.

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The BJP had won all three seats in the 2019 elections. While Majumdar won the Balurghat seat, Raju Bista secured the Darjeeling constituency -- and both of them are seeking re-election from these constituencies for a second term.

Debasree Chaudhuri won the Raiganj seat, but this time the BJP has sent her to Kolkata Dakshin as its candidate. In Raiganj, the party has fielded Kartick Paul, who is taking on Congress's Ali Imran Ramz and TMC's Krishna Kalyani in a three-way contest.

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Majumdar is fighting TMC's Biplab Mitra in Balurghat, while Bista is up against TMC's Gopal Lama and Congress's Munish Tamang in a high-stakes battle for Darjeeling.

West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats would be voting in seven phases, with the first one for three seats held on April 19.