Forty-three constituencies go to polls in the sixth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on 22 April. These constituencies are spread across the districts of Uttar Dinajpur in North Bengal, and Purba Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas and Nadia in South Bengal.
This phase comes at a time when all political parties in West Bengal and the Election Commission have come under fire for holding rallies in a protracted election amidst the new COVID-19 surge in the country.
Here's all you need to know about this phase.
Mix Of Geographies, Social Groups In Phase VI
All nine seats in Uttar Dinajpur in North Bengal, nine seats in Nadia, seventeen seats in North 24 Parganas and eight seats in Purba Bardhaman will be upfor grabs.
Different and interesting geographies, and social groups will vote in these areas.
One such area is the "Chicken’s Neck" region of Uttar Dinajpur where the constituencies border Bangladesh on one side and Bihar on the other. This region is inhabited by people of various religions and ethnicities.
On the other hand, in North 24 Parganas, constituencies like Barrackpore and Bhatpara, on the banks of the Hooghly, have centuries-old jute mills providing employment to the region.
Other constituencies in the district, like Bongaon Uttar, Bongaon Dakshin and some constituencies in Nadia like Krishnanagar Uttar, also have a considerable Matua population.
While the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been the Trinamool's poll plank against the BJP in the border areas, in constituencies like Katwa, Purbasthali Uttar and Purbasthali Dakshin, agrarian issues have dominated the discourse.
Mukul Roy's Return To Electoral Politics
Of the interesting candidates participating in this phase is the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukul Roy, who was earlier with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and also Mamata Banerjee's right-hand man.
Roy is contesting from the Krishnanagar Uttar constituency in the Nadia district against actor Koushani Mukherjee of the TMC.
Roy is contesting a public election after over 20 years.
That apart, the other "celebrity" candidate contesting this phase is actor Raj Chakraborty from Barrackpore.
TMC minister Jyotipriya Mallick is also contesting from the Habra constituency against senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha.
The results for the West Bengal Assembly elections will be declared on 2 May.
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