Bengal elections: EC announces restrictions on motorcycles, pillion riders ahead of polling

With two days to go for the first phase of polling in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Monday announced several restrictions in the state.

Among the curbs is a ban on motorcycles on roads during the night and tourists not being allowed to visit Digha, a popular beach destination in the state.

Polling in the state will take place in two phases on Thursday and April 29. While curbs ahead of phase one began on Tuesday, phase two curbs will begin from April 27.

Ban on motorcycles

Motorcycles will not be allowed on the roads between 6 pm and 6 am starting two days before the polling for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, The Telegraph quoted Election Commission officials as saying on Monday.

In a directive, the poll panel further said that pillion riders will not be allowed during the relaxation window between 6 am and 6 pm, except in medical emergencies, for family functions or for dropping and picking up children from school.

“In order to ensure free, fair, peaceful and violence-free elections... in the state and to prevent any form of intimidation and source jamming… restrictions on use of motorcycles are hereby imposed with immediate effect from polling day minus two onward,” the newspaper quoted the poll panel as saying.

An unidentified Election Commission official told The Telegraph that motorcycles with multiple riders, or groups of bikes, were often used to intimidate voters.

The directive was to ensure that motorcycles did not become “a tool of intimidation or inducement”, added the official.

However, delivery services, riders working with transport apps and office-going commuters with proper identification will be exempted from the ban, the Election Commission clarified later on Tuesday.

96-hour liquor ban

Additionally, the sale of liquor was also banned on Monday in West Bengal for 96 hours ahead of polling on Thursday, The Telegraph reported.

The Election Commission usually mandates a 48-hour ban on the sale of liquor before polling across the country.

The poll panel stated that there was an “unusual spurt” in the sale of liquor in West Bengal.

“There has also been a sudden growth in lifting of packaged liquor by retailers from WBSBCL [West Bengal State Beverages Corporation Limited] Depots during April, 2026 in comparison to the corresponding period last year,” NDTV quoted the poll panel as saying.

Ban on tourists

The Election Commission has also instructed tourists to leave Digha, reported the Bengali daily Bartaman Patrika.

Hotels in the Purba Medinipur were reportedly directed not to allow anybody from outside the district.