Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: West Bengal on Wednesday recorded a very high voter turnout of over 91% along with reports of sporadic violence during the second phase of the assembly elections.According to the Election Commission, the state registered a record 92.47% overall turnout across the two phases, the highest since Independence. The voter turnout in phase II stood around 91.66%, while phase I on April 23 had recorded 93.19%.“The combined poll percentage over the two phases stands at 92.47 per cent,” the poll watchdog said.West Bengal has a total voter base of 6.81 crore.Despite the strong participation, incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from several areas, including Chapra, Shantipur, Nimtala and Bhangar.In Chapra in Nadia district, a BJP polling agent was allegedly attacked by “miscreants linked to the ruling TMC”, according to party leaders. The injured person, identified as Mosharef Mir, was admitted to a local hospital, a senior police officer said.BJP candidate Saikat Sarkar said the incident happened after the mock poll began. “TMC supporters obstructed the BJP agent and hit him on the head, causing injury,” he said. A complaint has been filed with the local police, though the TMC denied the allegations.The injured agent claimed that 15–16 TMC supporters charged at him, one of them carrying a gun. He said he was hit with a rod and collapsed.In Shantipur, a BJP camp office in ward number 16 was vandalised on Wednesday morning, with furniture damaged, creating tension in the area, police said.In Bhangar in South 24 Parganas, an ISF agent was allegedly stopped from entering a polling booth, leading to unrest. ISF leader Arabul Islam claimed, “Agents’ forms are being snatched and they are being thrown out… Women are not being allowed to vote. We placed agents so that everyone can vote.”There were also delays in voting at booth number 140 in Nimtala, where polling had not started even by 7.30 am, causing tension among voters.An official from the chief electoral officer’s office said, “We have sought reports from the respective officials posted in these areas. They have been asked to ensure that polling is free and fair and everyone can participate without intimidation.”Despite these incidents, this election has seen record participation. Earlier, the highest turnout in the state was 84.72% in the 2011 Assembly polls.Women voters slightly outnumbered men in participation. According to EC data, 92.28% of women voted compared to 91.07% of men in this phase.Across states, voter turnout was also high. On April 9, Assam and Puducherry recorded 85.38% and 89.83% turnout respectively, their highest ever. In Tamil Nadu, women voters also outnumbered men, with 85.76% participation compared to 83.57% for men.In West Bengal, women turnout stood at 92.69%, higher than men at 90.92%.Reacting to the high turnout, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said, “For the highest ever percentage of polling in West Bengal since Independence, the EC salutes each voter of the state.”Counting of votes for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Assam will take place on May 4.
