Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dilip Ghosh with his rival Trinamool Congress candidate Pradip Sarkar. Photo credit: Special arrangement

The first phase of polling across 152 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections on Thursday (April 23, 2026) witnessed the usual scenes of violence, with supporters of rival parties targeting each other. However, there were few exceptions where political courtesy took precedence over political rivalry.

After a bitterly contested elections for the Kharagpur Sadar Assembly seat, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dilip Ghosh was seen exchanging pleasantries with his rival Trinamool Congress candidate Pradip Sarkar.

Published – April 23, 2026 10:39 pm IST