Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar praised the voters of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for achieving the highest-ever voter turnout in the Assembly elections. In West Bengal, the first phase of voting in 152 Assembly constituencies saw a confirmed 89.93% polling by 5 p.m., surpassing the 2021 elections figure of 82%. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu recorded a voting percentage of 82.24% by 5 p.m., an improvement from the 74% recorded in the 2021 elections.
The 16 districts in West Bengal where polling took place in the first phase included Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda in North Bengal, and Murshidabad, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan, and Birbhum in South Bengal. The second phase of polls for the remaining 142 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal is scheduled for April 29, with the results set to be announced on May 4.
Despite a few isolated incidents of tension and clashes, the polling process in West Bengal was notably peaceful and devoid of violence, marking the most peaceful elections since 2011. The polling percentage in West Bengal by 5 p.m. on Thursday was 89.93%, the highest in the last 15 years since the end of the previous Left Front government in 2011. The average polling percentage in the six-phase 2011 West Bengal Assembly polls was 84.33%, while the last seven-phase Lok Sabha election in 2024 recorded an average polling percentage of 79.8%.
An official from the CEO’s office hinted that the final polling percentage on Thursday might exceed 90%.
