Team News Riveting
Kolkata, April 28
The final and eighth round of polling for the assembly elections in West Bengal would be held on Thursday.
The 35 Assembly constituencies across four districts would go to polls. It includes six in Malda, eleven in Birbhum, eleven in Murshidabad and seven in Kolkata.
Over 84.77 lakh electorates, including 41.21 lakh women and 158 third gender persons, would be casting their votes at as many as 11,860 polling stations. A total of 283 candidates, including 35 women are in the fray in the last phase of the West Bengal polls.
The constituencies going to the polls in the final round would see a direct contest between the ruling TMC and BJP. In the last assembly, Congress had 19 seats while CPI(M) won in 10, RSP one, AIFB three and ISF had four seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also trying its electoral fate and is contenting in 24 constituencies.
The dominance of the Muslim population in the districts of Murshidabad and Malda sets the political dynamics in this region. Traditionally, these districts are considered as the Congress bastion.
Berhampore, the administrative headquarters of Murshidabad, is represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. However, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and the Indian Secular Force (ISF) are in the fray; playing spoilsport to many political equations.
