<p>Polling began at 7 am on Saturday for 44 seats in the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections amid tight security, officials said.</p>.<p>Voting is underway with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols in nine seats in Howrah district, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar, nine in Cooch Behar and 10 in Hooghly, they said.</p>.<p>Long queues were seen outside polling stations where voting will continue till 6.30 pm.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west-bengal-assembly-elections-live-news-updates-congress-trinamool-congress-bjp-dilip-ghosh-narendra-modi-phase-4-elections-mamata-banerjee-amit-shah-suvendu-adhikari-nandigram-left-front-972698.html" target="_blank"><strong>Track live updates of West Bengal elections live here</strong></a></p>.<p>Over 1.15 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 373 candidates, including Union minister Babul Supriyo and state ministers Partha Chatterjee and Arup Biswas.</p>.<p>Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful voting, with 789 companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) being deployed to guard 15,940 polling stations.</p>.<p>At least 187 companies of CAPF, the highest deployment of forces among poll-bound districts in the phase, are in Cooch Behar, which has witnessed sporadic incidents of violence, including an attack on BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, in the run-up to the elections.</p>.<p>State police forces have also been deployed at strategic locations to aid the central forces.</p>.<p>Elections for the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal are being held in eight phases. The votes will be counted on May 2. </p>
<p>Polling began at 7 am on Saturday for 44 seats in the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections amid tight security, officials said.</p>.<p>Voting is underway with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols in nine seats in Howrah district, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar, nine in Cooch Behar and 10 in Hooghly, they said.</p>.<p>Long queues were seen outside polling stations where voting will continue till 6.30 pm.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west-bengal-assembly-elections-live-news-updates-congress-trinamool-congress-bjp-dilip-ghosh-narendra-modi-phase-4-elections-mamata-banerjee-amit-shah-suvendu-adhikari-nandigram-left-front-972698.html" target="_blank"><strong>Track live updates of West Bengal elections live here</strong></a></p>.<p>Over 1.15 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 373 candidates, including Union minister Babul Supriyo and state ministers Partha Chatterjee and Arup Biswas.</p>.<p>Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful voting, with 789 companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) being deployed to guard 15,940 polling stations.</p>.<p>At least 187 companies of CAPF, the highest deployment of forces among poll-bound districts in the phase, are in Cooch Behar, which has witnessed sporadic incidents of violence, including an attack on BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, in the run-up to the elections.</p>.<p>State police forces have also been deployed at strategic locations to aid the central forces.</p>.<p>Elections for the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal are being held in eight phases. The votes will be counted on May 2. </p>
