Elections in several phases to ensure security, says BJP leader Dilip Ghosh after ECI announces Assembly poll schedule for West Bengal

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 16 (ANI): BJP leader Dilip Ghosh has said that the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases to ensure safety and security and noted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is confident that the polling will be held peacefully.
"The Election Commission is confident that the elections will be conducted peacefully. The way that the Election Commission has worked seriously since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, elections will be conducted exactly like that," Ghosh said.

Addressing reporters here, the BJP leader said that elections conducted in long phases becomes problamatic for everyone in terms of finance and workload. Further, he urged that West Bengal should create an atmosphere supporting a single-phase polling system.
"It doesn't matter if the elections are conducted once or ten times; we will fight and win the election. It is problematic for the people if the elections are held in several phases during the summer. They also cause financial problems. It is a lot of hard work. Nothing else happens in society when the elections are being conducted. It should be completed as soon as possible, but due to security purposes, the elections are conducted in several phases. West Bengal should create an atmosphere where the elections can be completed in a single phase," he said.
On the topic of BJP's list of candidates, Ghosh said, "Everything is ready, it will be announced. We have been preparing for the last six months with Sankalp Yatra and Poriborton Yatra. The BJP workers are ready."
West Bengal is headed for the 2026 Assembly elections to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.
The ruling Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress is expected to defend its position against the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had won 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. The Trinamool Congress had won 215 seats in the 294-member Assembly last time.
Meanwhile, the apex poll body also announced Assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. Kerala and Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. Voting in Puducherry will also take place on April 9. The counting of votes for all four states and Puducherry will be held on May 4, the ECI announced.
The terms of the current assemblies are set to end on different dates: May 7 in West Bengal, May 10 in Tamil Nadu, May 20 in Assam, May 23 in Kerala, and June 15 in Puducherry. (ANI)