Voting for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election is underway on Wednesday, with a turnout of 78.77% recorded by 3 pm, according to updates from the state.
West Bengal has 294 Assembly constituencies and is going to polls in two phases. In the first phase, voting is being held in 152 constituencies spread across 16 districts. The second phase is scheduled for April 29.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. Around 3.6 crore voters are eligible to vote in this phase, and security has been tightened with about 2.4 lakh personnel deployed, including additional arrangements at sensitive booths.
The election is being held in a state governed by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, with a keen contest reported between the TMC and the BJP. In the 2021 election, the TMC won 215 seats while the BJP secured 77.
The polls are also taking place after a special intensive revision of electoral rolls, during which 89 lakh alleged fake voters were removed, the report said.
