West Bengal Phase 1 Polls Records 62% Turnout by 1 PM; Violence Reported in Birbhum, Murshidabad

Kolkata: The first phase of the West Bengal assembly election recorded a strong voter turnout of approximately 78.77 per cent by 3 pm on Thursday, with polling underway across 152 constituencies in 16 districts. A total of 1,478 candidates, including 167 women, are in the fray among an electorate of 3.60 crore voters.

CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary Mohammed Salim described polling as generally peaceful but blamed the Election Commission for incidents of violence that broke out in certain areas. Violence was reported from Birbhum and Murshidabad, and there are allegations that a BJP candidate was assaulted by Trinamool Congress workers in Kumarganj, South Dinajpur. The Election Commission has sought reports from the affected areas, but criticism has been directed at both the Commission and police observers for failing to maintain adequate vigilance.

The Election Commission had earlier identified 7,384 of the total 44,378 polling booths as sensitive, and deployed 2,450 companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces alongside 2,193 Quick Response Teams. Around 150 persons from North 24 Parganas and Malda were taken into preventive custody ahead of polling.

The second phase of polling is scheduled for April 29, with counting for West Bengal on May 4.