Voting underway in key Indian states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu

Voting began on Thursday in two of India’s politically key opposition-held states, with tens of millions casting ballots in West Bengal and the southern Tamil Nadu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in the national parliament, is hoping to make inroads in the opposition strongholds.

In West Bengal, which has a population of over 100 million, polling opened in the first phase to elect members from 152 constituencies of the 294-seat legislative assembly.

The second phase, covering the remaining 142 seats, will be held on April 29.

“Nearly 36 million people are eligible to vote,” said Manoj Agarwal, the state’s chief electoral officer, adding that around 8,000 polling stations had been designated “supersensitive”.

Modi’s BJP has waged an aggressive bid to dislodge West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been in power in the state since 2011.

Banerjee’s party won 213 of the 294 seats in the previous election held in 2021.

Paramilitary forces were deployed, with security heightened along the Bangladesh border.

The campaign was marked by protests over the removal of millions of names from voter rolls during a Special Intensive Revision — meant to remove ineligible voters but which critics say is skewed against marginalised and minority communities.

“We want employment in our state. We want to live with social dignity,” first-time voter Pratik Maity told AFP.

Women’s safety and corruption also featured prominently during the campaign.

In Tamil Nadu, which has a population of over 80 million, polling for the 234-member assembly is being conducted on Thursday in a single phase, with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) facing off against its long-time rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

The BJP, a junior ally of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, has struggled to make significant electoral gains in the southern state.

Results for both elections will be released on May 4.

On the same day, results will also be announced for state elections in Assam and Kerala, as well as the smaller coastal territory of Puducherry.