Political circle wonders whether the historic 92.88 per cent turnout reflects anti-incumbency or stronger support for the ruling regime Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves during a roadshow amid the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections in Dum Dum, North 24 Parganas district. New Delhi: West Bengal's political landscape appears to be scripting a new narrative this time, one written through numbers, but rich in deeper meaning. In the first phase of the assembly elections, 92.8

For a state as fractious and combustible as West Bengal, the first phase of the 2026 assembly election delivered a record 92.89 percent turnout, which was roughly ten percentage points higher than in 2021. The credit for this disciplined exercise, in no small measure, belongs to the Election Commission which managed to conduct a largely peaceful poll in a state where elections have historically been anything but tranquil. Following a controversial Special Intensive Revision (

The Women’s Reservation Bill, proposing 33 percent quotas in Parliament, ran aground on the shoals of a missing two-thirds majority. Yet, its failure may prove less a setback for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) than a carefully staged gambit, especially ahead of key Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. On the face of it, the government’s push appeared quixotic. Without the requisite numbers, legislative success was improbable. But politics is about shapin