Voter Turnout: Tamil Nadu Crosses 56%, West Bengal Sees 62% Turnout By 1 pm

Voter turnout, by 1 pm, stood at 56.81 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 62.18 per cent in West Bengal as polling continued on Thursday for all 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu and 152 of West Bengal’s 294 constituencies. The vote forms part of a wider election season after polling concluded in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry on April 9.

In Tamil Nadu, more than 57.3 million voters are deciding the fate of 4,023 candidates in a three-cornered contest led by the DMK alliance and the AIADMK-led NDA. Chief Minister MK Stalin is seeking a second term, while AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is aiming to return to office after five years. Actor Vijay’s TVK, making its electoral debut, has added a new dimension to the race.

In West Bengal, more than 36 million voters, including nearly 17.5 million women, are eligible to vote in the first of two phases covering 152 seats. The election is expected to shape the contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, seeking a fourth consecutive term, and the BJP, which hopes to form a government in the state for the first time.

In Tamil Nadu, more than 57.3 million voters are deciding the fate of 4,023 candidates in a three-cornered contest led by the DMK alliance and the AIADMK-led NDA. Chief Minister MK Stalin is seeking a second term, while AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is aiming to return to office after five years. Actor Vijay’s TVK, making its electoral debut, has added a new dimension to the race.

In West Bengal, more than 36 million voters, including nearly 17.5 million women, are eligible to vote in the first of two phases covering 152 seats. The election is expected to shape the contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, seeking a fourth consecutive term, and the BJP, which hopes to form a government in the state for the first time.

Chennai recorded 54.58 per cent polling by 1 pm. Voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. The remaining seats in West Bengal will vote on April 29, while counting in both states will take place on May 4 alongside Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

In Tamil Nadu, polling was briefly delayed at a few stations in Erode and Namakkal because of EVM and VVPAT malfunctions. Officials said the faults were quickly rectified and spare machines were used where required.

In West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, a scuffle was reported between Trinamool Congress workers and Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir. Party workers reportedly accused Kabir of acting on behalf of the BJP. Kabir had visited an area where a crude bomb was allegedly thrown the previous day, injuring a woman and causing panic ahead of polling.

The Trinamool Congress also alleged that three women were assaulted by Central Reserve Police Force personnel at a polling booth in Lakhipur ward, Uttar Dinajpur district. One woman reportedly suffered a head injury.

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to ensure all tribunal decisions on additions and deletions of voters by April 21 for the first phase and April 27 for the second phase are reflected in the final electoral rolls. Ahead of the first phase, only 138 of 2.7 million appeals had reportedly been decided.

In Tamil Nadu, more than 7.4 million names were removed from the final voter list. In West Bengal, a record 240,000 Central Armed Police Force personnel have been deployed for the first phase.