West Bengal Assembly Polls First Phase: 92.88% Voter Turnout

Kolkata (IANS): The Election Commission of India (ECI) released updated tabulation data on Friday indicating that voter turnout for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls has reached a staggering 92.88%. This figure, recorded as of Thursday midnight, marks the highest polling percentage in the state’s electoral history.

Breaking a 15-Year Record

The previous record for voter turnout was set during the landmark 2011 Assembly elections, which saw an average polling percentage of 84.33%. Thursday’s phase, covering 152 constituencies, surpassed that record an hour before the official close of polls, hitting 89.93% by 5:00 PM.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) West Bengal insider sources confirmed that the current 92.88% is still not final. The figure is expected to rise further once the commission completes the final tabulation of late-evening voters.

Midnight Polling and Strategic Cleaning

CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal noted that while the official time for conclusion was 6:00 PM on Thursday, over 5,000 polling booths still saw massive queues at that hour. In several locations, the polling process stretched late into the evening to accommodate every citizen in line.

Agarwal attributed the record-breaking turnout to two primary factors:

• List Accuracy: The ECI successfully “cleaned” the voters’ list prior to the polls by removing absent, missing, shifted, and duplicate voters.

• High Engagement: Enthusiastic participation across the 152 constituencies signaled a highly engaged electorate.

Security and Law Enforcement

Authorities described the first phase as “overall peaceful,” though they took strict preventive measures to ensure order.

• Pre-Poll Arrests: Law enforcement made 571 preventive arrests before Thursday morning.

• Polling Day Action: Police arrested 41 individuals during the voting process for attempting to disrupt the polls.

The CEO’s office is expected to announce the final, verified percentage soon as the updated data arrives from remote polling stations.