West Bengal assembly polls: 45% voter turnout recorded in first four hours

Kolkata, May 5: Over 45% of the electorate exercised their franchise in the first four hours of polling in the sixth and last phase of West Bengal Assembly elections in two districts.

While East Midnapore district recorded 48.02% Cooch Behar recorded 42.07%. The overall average till 11 a.m was 45.88%.

For the first time since Independence, residents of border enclaves in Cooch Behar were exercising their franchise, made possible by the formal inclusion of enclaves in the Indian territory last year.

Although Election Commission officials were worried about the possibility of rainfall in Cooch Behar district affecting voter turnout and work of polling personnel, it did not rain till noon today.

An electorate of over 58 lakh is eligible to cast their ballots at 6,774 polling stations till 6 p.m in 25 constituencies.

In all, 170 candidates, including 18 women, are in the fray in this phase.

The poll panel has deployed 361 companies of central forces who are assisted by a contingent of 12,000 state police personnel.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC have been promulgated on the polling day and being enforced strictly to curb any unlawful assembly.

In a booth under Moyna Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district, Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint against Congress assembling with arms near booth number 236.

The Trinamool Congress has also accused Congress of booth jamming in booth numbers 14, 107 and 249 under the same Assembly Constituency.

Security personnel arrested five persons on the charge of giving food to voters near booth no 231 at Gobra in Moyna constituency.

Police said two groups of men belonging to Trinamool Congress and Congress were providing food to the voters.

Securitymen chased them and most of them fled. Five of them, however, were caught.

CPI(M) claimed that it could not put up polling agents in as many as 52 booths in Nandigram to which Trinamool MP Suvendu Adhikari quipped, "We cannot be blamed for that".

Complaints have been reported by TMC and CPI(M) from Natabari constituency in Cooch Behar district from where district president of TMC Rabindranath Ghosh and former CPI(M) MLA Tamser Ali are pitted against each other.

Ghosh also alleged high-handedness by Central Forces at Deocharai in Natabari.

Kolkata, May 5: Polling began this morning in the sixth and last phase of Assembly election in the two districts of East Midnapore and Coochbehar amidst strict security.

Last phase of Bengal Assembly poll begins

An electorate of over 58 lakh is eligible to cast their ballots at 6,774 polling stations between 7 AM to 6 PM in 25 constituencies.

In all, 170 candidates, including 18 women, are in the fray for the last phase of elections.

Maintaining a tight security cover, the poll panel has deployed 361 companies of central forces assisted by a contingent of 12,000 state police personnel.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC have been promulgated on the polling day and enforced strictly to ensure that any unlawful assembly is effectively curbed.

Out of the total electors, 27.8 lakh are womem while the third gender constitutes a small minority of 68 voters.

The weather is expected to be pleasant with thundersquall occurring in many places in the two districts in the past hours. The weatherman in fact have predicted heavy showers in Coochbehar district, in particular.

For the first time since Independence, residents of border enclaves in Coochbehar will be able to exercise their franchise, thanks to the formal inclusion of enclaves in the Indian territory last year.

There are 9,776 voters in the enclave, for whom special arrangements and awareness programmes have been done.

Among them is 103-year-old Asgar Ali of Madhya Mashaldanga who is eligible to vote for the first time in his life.

In East Midnapore, on the other hand, the district administration has taken special measures to make the elections a disabled-friendly one.

They have pinpointed 15,500 persons with disability in the electoral rolls. Each polling premises has a wheelchair, ramp with handrails and braille signage.

In the two districts, the commission has so far identified 714 vulnerable 'hamlets' and 1,685 vulnerable voters. Close to 900 trouble-mongers have been identified and action taken against all of them.

All eyes are on Nandigram in East Midnapore district where a violent anti-land acquisition movement had played a key role in ousting the 34-year-long Left Front government.

Trinamool Congress, which had won all 16 seats in East Midnapore district in 2011, has now fielded its Tamluk MP Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram, who is pitted against CPI's Abdul Kabir Sheikh supported by the Congress-Left alliance.

State Environment Minister Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar is another heavyweight in the fray defending his Mahisadal seat.