Hyderabad: The stage is set for the fourth phase of West Bengal assembly elections in which voters will decide the fate of nearly 373 candidates on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the rest of the top party leaders are leaving no stone unturned to stir a hornet's nest in West Bengal and is challenging the TMC in several of its bastions.
The BJP has been trying to pool in members from various walks of life especially celebrities to keep TMC on the backfoot.
Meanwhile, the TMC, headed by two-time Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is determined to stop the BJP from making inroads in West Bengal.
A total of 373 candidates from 10 political parties have filed their nominations in the fourth phase of Assembly polls. The state elections will be completed in eight phases and the fourth phase will take place on April 10. On Saturday voters will decide the fate of 323 male and 50 female candidates.
According to data compiled by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), 12 (27%) out of 44 constituencies are Red alert constituencies where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases filed against them.
As per the ADR report, 81 (22%) out of 373 candidates have declared criminal cases while 65 (17%) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
A total of 944 companies of central forces will be stationed in Bengal to provide security in the state and to ensure free and fair elections.
According to the EC, the highest deployment of central forces in Bengal to date had been during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Close to 842 companies of central forces were stationed in Bengal in 2019.
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