Crucial State Elections Begin in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu

Kolkata. Significant state-level elections begin in India on Thursday. The contests in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, in particular, are being viewed with high importance in political circles.

For the BJP, these elections are a test to expand its reach in contested regions, while for opposition parties, they are an opportunity to gauge whether they can challenge the BJP's dominance. Voting has already taken place in Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry.

The toughest battle is in West Bengal, where voting is taking place for 152 seats across 16 districts in the first phase. There are 1,478 candidates in the fray in this phase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has adopted an aggressive strategy to oust Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from power.

Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) is seeking a fourth consecutive term, while the BJP is aiming to capture power in the state for the first time. The second phase of voting will be held next week.

The West Bengal election is taking place amidst a major controversy over the revision of the electoral roll. After a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the names of about 9 million voters (about 12 percent of the state's total voters) have been removed from the list.

Officials have classified them as absent or deceased. Additionally, the status of another 2.7 million voters is still under review. Although the Election Commission of India claims this step was taken to clean up the voter list, it has sparked legal challenges and major controversy.

Affected families have expressed concern, stating that their names were removed despite having valid documents. Tensions have escalated further after leaders including Modi made statements suggesting the list was cleaned to target 'illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.' The TMC has accused the move of targeting Muslims, although officials stated that many Hindus were also among those removed from the list.

High security arrangements have been made in West Bengal to prevent violence and rigging during the election. About 240,000 central security personnel have been deployed, and bulletproof vehicles are patrolling.

The Election Commission has imposed strict restrictions to ensure security. These include bans on bike rallies, carrying pillion riders on two-wheelers during the day, and operating two-wheelers at night except for essential purposes. Additionally, the liquor sales ban, typically 48 hours, has been extended to 96 hours.

West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal clarified that sales at liquor shops have increased by 30 to 240 percent, and the administration is keeping a close watch to ensure this liquor is not used to lure voters. He warned of strict action if any government employee is found involved in such activities.

Thursday's voting is taking place in the northern, central, and south-western regions of West Bengal, which are considered the state's less developed and poorer areas. These regions have a high concentration of Muslims, tribals, and lower-caste Hindus. Muslim-majority districts like Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, and Malda are also voting in this phase.

A large portion of the 2.7 million voters removed due to 'logical discrepancies' in the records are from these areas. The second phase of voting will be held on April 29 for 142 seats, which includes the capital Kolkata and regions of South Bengal considered TMC strongholds.

Apart from West Bengal, the Tamil Nadu election has also captured everyone's attention. There are over 57 million voters here, and voting for all 234 seats is taking place in a single phase.

Here, the competition is mainly between two regional parties, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Currently, the DMK is in power under the leadership of MK Stalin, while the AIADMK has formed an alliance with the BJP.
This time, the entry of actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party, the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has made the election a three-way contest. Analysts say that even a small achievement here is very important for the BJP, which is struggling to increase its influence in South India, where the politics of regional identity and linguistic pride dominate.