78.25% voter turnout in fifth phase of West Bengal elections

The fifth and penultimate phase of West Bengal Assembly polls in 53 constituencies on Saturday recorded a voter turnout of 78.25 per cent and polling was peaceful, even as FIRs were registered against two Presiding Officers and a Trinamool Congress candidate for alleged intimidation of voters.

Deputy Election Commissioner and in-charge of West Bengal polls, Sandeep Saxena said, "According to SMS-based information from polling officers, at 5pm the voter turnout in the fifth phase was 78.25 per cent."

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This is against 82.77 per cent final voting recorded during the 2011 assembly elections in the three districts of Hoogly, Kolkata South district and South 24-Parganas, that went to polls on Saturday. In 2014 Parliamentary elections, the said area recorded 80.22 per cent polling.

The final figures of turnout will be known on Sunday after data compilation. Beside Mamata, prominent contestants in the fifth phase included her key ministerial colleagues Firhad Hakim, Partha Chattopadhyay and Subrata Mukherjee.