Kolkata: Amidst tight security, 76 constituencies in Kolkata and two adjoining districts - North and South 24 Parganas - would go to the polls in the third phase of assembly elections in West Bengal on Thursday.
The polls will decide the fate of 474 aspirants, including 36 women.
Prominent candidates in the fray are Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his cabinet colleagues Asim Dasgupta, Subhas Chakraborty, Amar Chowdhury, Md Amin and Manabendra Mukherjee.
Former city mayor and Congress nominee Subrata Mukherjee, film actors Tapas Pal (Trinamool Congress) and Biplab Chattopadhyay (CPI-M), would also try their luck.
Election to Bhatpara constituency was countermanded due to the death of Bahujan Samaj Party nominee Shefali Sarkar.
The third phase poll would not witness straight contest in any of these constituencies.
The Burrabazar seat in Kolkata has the maximum number of 13 candidates.
Two Election Commission observers have been appointed for each of the 76 constituencies while a third polling officer would be asked to expedite the polling process in the event of polling continuing beyond 1700 hrs (IST), according to Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan.
About 500 companies of central para-military forces have been deployed in the three districts to ensure peaceful polling.
Central para-military forces had been given the responsibility to take care of the polling stations, while local and state police would look after law and order "beyond a reasonable distance", he said.
Area domination by the central forces is on and would continue till the end of the elections.
Election Commission sources said that polling personnel had begun moving into far-flung areas.
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