Kolkata: West Bengal registered an unprecedented voter turnout of 91.78% in the first phase of the Assembly elections, according to Election Commission data. Despite reports of attacks and stone-pelting in some areas, polling was largely peaceful across most constituencies.
Ahead of the elections, the state carried out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls last year. Following the exercise, more than 90 lakh names—cited as including duplicate entries and deceased voters—were removed, bringing the electorate down by about 12% from 7.66 crore to 6.75 crore.
Polling for 152 constituencies across 16 districts was held from 7 am to 6 pm. Voters queued up from early morning in many places, with high participation reported from tea garden regions in the north to sensitive areas such as Murshidabad and the politically tense Jangalmahal belt.
Some booths saw delays due to malfunctioning electronic voting machines. In one booth in Korabazar, voting was halted for about an hour after a replacement machine also failed to record votes, before polling resumed.
Turnout rose steadily through the day—18.76% in the first two hours, 41.11% by 11 am, 62.18% by 1 pm and 89.93% by 5 pm. Voters who were in queue at closing time were allowed to cast their ballots, and the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
