Against the backdrop of a battle of nerves between the Election Commission and West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress, 56 assembly constituencies go to the polls today, mostly covering a region where the newly formed Left Front-Congress alliance is hoping to come up with its strongest showing.
From the picturesque hill station of Darjeeling in the northern tip to Malda - famous for its mouth-watering mangoes - and down south to Birbhum, nearly 10.2mn voters in six districts are eligible to elect their nominees in the second phase across 13,645 polling stations from a field of 383 candidates - 33 of them female.
Five of the constituencies are in Alipurduar district, seven in Jalpaiguri, nine in North Dinajpur, six each in Darjeeling and South Dinajpur and 12 in Malda.
The only south Bengal district with 11 constituencies going the polls in this phase is Birbhum that houses Visva Bharati University set up by Asia’s first Nobel laureate poet Rabindra Nath Tagore.
But Birbhum has now grabbed national attention for a reason far removed from Tagore’s ideals.
The district’s controversial Trinamool Congress chief Anubrata Mondal - known for making inflammatory speeches and repeatedly accused by the opposition of using strong-arm tactics to turn all elections in the district into a “farce” over the past three years - has been kept under “constant watch” of central police forces and a local magistrate by the Election Commission in a bid to hold free and fair polls.
The EC has also issued a show-cause to Mondal’s mentor and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for announcing at a poll rally that Asansol in Burdwan district would be upgraded into a new district.
Riled by the EC strictures, Banerjee has gone all guns blazing at the election watchdog, accusing it of acting at the behest of the Congress, tehg Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
However, this phase is the most crucial for the Left Front-Congress alliance, particularly in the 45 northern Bengal seats.
In elections held in the recent past, the combine’s vote percentage far outshoots that of the Trinamool in most of the constituencies.
And in its bid to capture power in the state, a superb performance in north Bengal is a must for the opposition team.
But on the flip side, there are at least five seats where Left Front partners like the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc are locking horns with Congress candidates.
Besides in Birbhum district’s Hansan, despite the Left Front announcement that its constituent RCPI would withdraw from the race in favour of the Congress, the same candidate has entered the fray backed by a splinter group of the RCPI.
The BJP-Gorkha Janmukti Morcha combine is contesting all the seats.
The Trinamool has nominated 55 candidates, and has lent support to Harka Bahadur Chettri of the Jan Andolan Party.
The Congress has put up 23 candidates, and the Left Front 34. The alliance has not fielded any candidate in the three seats of the Darjeeling hills - Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong - and has extended support to an independent in English 
Bazar.
A star constituency is Darjeeling district’s Siliguri, where former football captain and Trinamool nominee Baichung Bhutia is pitted against former state minister and CPM heavyweight Asok Bhattacharya.
Eyes will also be on Sujapur in Malda district where two relatives of late Congress stalwart A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury - affectionately called Barkatda - are locking horns.
West Bengal is having a staggered election over six phases. Polling for the remaining phases will be held on April 21, 25, 30 and May 5.