Nearly 80 per cent turnout in Bengal in Phase 1

New Delhi : In the first phase of Assembly polls, Bengal reported a voter turnout of nearly 80 per cent and Assam registered around 72 per cent voters.

According to the Election Commission figures, West Bengal and Assam saw 79.79% and 76.89% polling till 5pm respectively.

In the first phase of elections, voting was held on the 30 Assembly seats of the state. Tight security and strict COVID-19 guidelines were put in place.

In some of the booths, voters were provided face masks, sanitizers and polythene gloves before voting.

More than 73 lakh voters were eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of the elections.

Purba Medinipur recorded the highest turnout at 82.51 per cent, followed by Jhargram at 80.56, Paschim Medinipur at 80.12 per cent, Bankura at 79.90 per cent and Purulia at 77.07 per cent.

Incidents of violence were also reported in some of the areas.

In Kanthi Dakshin seat of Purba Medinipur district, voters staged protests outside a polling booth over alleged malfunctioning of an electronic voting machine.

The agitators blocked a road outside a polling station at Majna, claiming that the VVPAT slip showed results in favour of a particular party, no matter which outfit they voted for.

CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party has manipulated EVMs to change election fate.

"Today, in some polling booths of Kanthi, the VVPAT showed that votes were getting polled in favour of the BJP, even as a person pressed the button next to the symbol of some other party. In some areas, central forces were seen threatening voters. The EC must take action," she said. 

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