West Bengal will have a staggered seven-phase polling for its 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, the Election Commission announced here on Sunday.
Only two other states - Uttar Pradesh and Bihar - will have such an election spread over all seven phases, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said.
Two constituencies of the state will go to the hustings in the first phase on April 11, polling in three constituencies will be held on April 18, five will vote on April 23 and eight on April 29 in the fourth phase.
In the fifth phase, voters of seven constituencies will exercise their democratic choice on May 6.
Eight constituencies will witness polling in the sixth and penultimate phase on May 12, and the remaining nine constituencies will have polling in the last phase on May 19.
The votes will be counted on May 23.
| PHASE |
DATES |
LOK SABHA SEATS |
| First |
11th April |
Coochbehar, Alipurduars |
| Second |
18th April |
Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj |
| Third |
23rd April |
Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur, Murshidabad |
| Fourth |
29th April |
Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bardhaman Purba, Bardhaman Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur, Birbhum |
| Fifth |
6th May |
Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, Arambag |
| Sixth |
12th May |
Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur |
| Seventh |
19th May |
Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar |
