Polling for the Second Phase of Assembly Elections in the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal was held on 1st April with adequate security arrangements to ensure free and fair polling. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was used along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at every Polling Station, to enhance the transparency and credibility of the election process. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the option of the Postal Ballot facility has been extended to the electors who are COVID- 19 positive or suspects as certified by the competent authority and are in-home or institutional quarantine along with those marked as Persons with Disabilities and above the age of 80 years. The special facilities included mandatory sanitization of Polling Station, thermal checking of voters at entry point either by polling staff or paramedical staff or an Asha worker. If the temperature was found above the set norms of the Health Ministry, then the elector was provided with a token and asked to come for voting at the last hour of the poll. Such electors were facilitated for voting, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures. In Assam, 345 candidates including 26 women were in the fray for the 39 Assembly Constituencies spread over 13 districts going to polls. In West Bengal, 171 candidates including 19 women vied for the 30 seats in four districts during the Second Phase. The state is witnessing eight-phase elections. The prominent leader contesting during the Second Phase included Trinamool Congress President and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her former aide and rival BJP candidate Shubhendu Adhikari along with CPI (M) youth leader Minakshi Mukherjee from Nandigram.
Polling for the Second Phase of Assembly Elections in the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal was held on 1st April with adequate security arrangements to ensure free and fair polling. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was used along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at every Polling Station, to enhance the transparency and credibility of the election process. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the option of the Postal Ballot facility has been extended to the electors who are COVID- 19 positive or suspects as certified by the competent authority and are in-home or institutional quarantine along with those marked as Persons with Disabilities and above the age of 80 years. The special facilities included mandatory sanitization of Polling Station, thermal checking of voters at entry point either by polling staff or paramedical staff or an Asha worker. If the temperature was found above the set norms of the Health Ministry, then the elector was provided with a token and asked to come for voting at the last hour of the poll. Such electors were facilitated for voting, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures. In Assam, 345 candidates including 26 women were in the fray for the 39 Assembly Constituencies spread over 13 districts going to polls. In West Bengal, 171 candidates including 19 women vied for the 30 seats in four districts during the Second Phase. The state is witnessing eight-phase elections. The prominent leader contesting during the Second Phase included Trinamool Congress President and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her former aide and rival BJP candidate Shubhendu Adhikari along with CPI (M) youth leader Minakshi Mukherjee from Nandigram.
