Kolkata, April 22 (IANS) The stage is now set for polling in 152 Assembly constituencies scattered across 16 districts in West Bengal on April 23, under unprecedented security cover.​

The total number of registered electors in these 152 Assembly constituencies, as per the records of the Election Commission of India (ECI), is 3,60,77,171, which is roughly 67 per cent of the total population of 5,40,09,620 in those 152 Assembly constituencies.

​Of the 3,60,77,171 registered electors, 1,84,99,496 are male voters, 1,75,77,210 are female voters, and 475 are third gender voters.

​Electors’ Photo Identity Card cards have been issued to all the 3,60,77,171 registered voters under these 152 Assembly constituencies.

​The number of voters aged 100 or above is 4,025, while the number of voters aged 85 or above is 2,04,618.

​There are a total of 43 Non-Resident Indian voters, and 69,468 are service voters.

​A total of 1,478 candidates are in the fray for these 152 Assembly constituencies that will go to the polls in the first phase on Thursday.

​The number of male candidates is 1,311, while the number of female candidates is 167.

​There is not a single third gender candidate.

​Cooch Behar (Dakshin) in Cooch Behar district, and Karandighi and Itahar Assembly constituencies in North Dinajpur district, have the highest number of candidates at 15 each.

​On the other hand, Chandrakona Assembly constituency in West Midnapore district has the fewest candidates, at five.

​The 16 districts where polling will be held in the first phase on April 23 are Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda in North Bengal, and Murshidabad, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, West Bardhaman, and Birbhum in South Bengal.

​Seven of these 16 districts are under the Election Commission of India’s special scanner due to security concerns on the polling day.

​Of the 152 Assembly constituencies, 103 are in the general category, while 34 are reserved for the scheduled castes and 15 are reserved for the scheduled tribes.

​In terms of area, Siliguri in Darjeeling district is the smallest Assembly constituency, covering just 419 square kilometres, while Kalimpong, which is also a separate district, is the largest, covering 1,076 square kilometres.

​Samserganj, in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district, has the fewest electors at 1,61,435, while Daspur in the West Midnapore district has the most at 2,96,045.

​Of the 152 Assembly constituencies going to the polls on Thursday, only 13 have voters up to 2 lakh, while in the remaining 139 constituencies, the number of voters exceeds 2 lakh.

​The total number of polling stations in the first phase is 44,376, of which 41,418 are main polling stations, and 2,958 are auxiliary polling stations.

​Again, of the 44,376 main polling stations, 5,487 are in urban areas, while the remaining 35,931 are in rural areas.

​The first phase of the Assembly polls will be conducted under unprecedented security cover, with the deployment of 2,407 companies of central forces, including Central Armed Police Forces, the India Reserve Battalion, and personnel from armed police wings of other states, in addition to personnel from West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police.

​There will be webcasting at all polling stations.

​The second phase of polls in West Bengal will be on April 29.

​The results will be declared on May 4.

​–IANS

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