West Bengal assembly polls: 23% voter turnout recorded in first two hours

Over 23% of the electorate exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in the sixth and last phase of West Bengal Assembly election today.

While East Midnapore district recorded 24.45% Cooch Behar recorded 21.59%. The overall average till 9 a.m was 23.46%.

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An electorate of over 58 lakh is eligible to cast their ballots at 6,774 polling stations between 7 a.m to 6 p.m in 25 constituencies.

In all, 170 candidates, including 18 women, are in the fray for the last phase.

For the first time since Independence, residents of border enclaves in Cooch Behar are exercising their franchise, made possible by the formal inclusion of enclaves in the Indian territory last year.

There are 9,776 voters in the enclave, for whom special arrangements and awareness programmes have been done.

Maintaining a tight security cover, the poll panel has deployed 361 companies of central forces who are assisted by a contingent of 12,000 state police personnel.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC have been promulgated on the polling day and being enforced strictly to curb any unlawful assembly.

Election Commission officials said they are worried about the possibility of rainfall affecting both voter turnouts and work of polling personnel in Cooch Behar district where the weatherman has predicted heavy rainfall.

In a booth under Moyna Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district, Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint against Congress assembling with arms near booth number 236.

The Trinamool Congress has also accused Congress of booth jamming in booth numbers 14, 107 and 249 under the same Assembly Constituency.

CPI(M) claimed that it could not put up polling agents in as many as 52 booths in Nandigram to which Trinamool MP Suvendu Adhikari quipped, "We cannot be blamed for that".