New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday welcomed the brisk voting recorded in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, calling the 92.88% turnout “heartening”.
West Bengal, governed by the Trinamool Congress under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saw a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls last year. Following the exercise, over 90 lakh names—citing reasons such as duplicate citizenship and deceased voters—were removed, bringing the electorate down from 7.66 crore to 6.75 crore, a drop of about 12%.
Polling for 152 constituencies across 16 districts was held in the first phase, while the second phase for the remaining 142 seats is scheduled on April 29. Reports mentioned isolated incidents such as attacks on candidates and stone-pelting, but voting was largely peaceful, with the turnout described as the highest in the state since Independence.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Jaymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, heard petitions filed by individuals including 65 election officials who claimed they could not vote due to the SIR process. The court dismissed the pleas and asked the petitioners to approach the tribunal set up for SIR-related grievances.
CJI Surya Kant said the unprecedented turnout strengthened democracy when voters exercised their franchise properly. Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee remarked that people who understood the power of voting would not resort to violence, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta termed the turnout a historic achievement. Election Commission data also showed women voting at higher rates than men, with notable participation from third-gender voters as well.
