Bengal Assembly Elections 2026: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a 24/7 helpline number and email to ensure that the state of West Bengal has fair, transparent and accountable elections this year. The email facility wbfreeandfairpolls@gmail.com could be used to submit grievances and the toll-free number 18003450008 is active for everyone to access till voting concludes in the state. All complaints would be handled by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
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Bengal Assembly Elections 2026–Reasons For The Development
Manoj Kumar Agarwal, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, remarked that the initiative has been taken so that peaceful, free and fair polls happen in the state. Agarwal added that all complaints would be directly received at the CEC Office and required action would be taken at the earliest based on the complaint’s nature.
The EC’s move is seen by many in the state’s political circles as a way to reassure voters and reinforce confidence in the electoral processes. For decades, the state has witnessed allegations of voter intimidation, bomb blasts, political violence and administrative bias during elections.
Elections to the state assembly’s 294 seats would be held in two phases with voting on April 23 and 29, followed by the counting of votes on May 4, 2026.
Bengal Assembly Elections 2026
The 2026 West Bengal elections would unfold soon amid intense political polarization, primarily between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sitting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly alleged that the Election Commission of India is acting in a biased manner, accusing it of aiding the BJP. Mamata has time and again condemned the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that saw the deletion of lakhs of names to election favours to BJP by EC. On the other, BJP has refuted these allegations, saying violence-free, fear-free elections in the state are not possible under the regime of Mamata Banerjee.
