Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu and West Bengal recorded bumper polling on Thursday, with the Election Commission (ECI) saying both states saw their highest-ever voter turnout since Independence as voting ended at 6 pm.Polling concluded at 6pm, with West Bengal recording a turnout of 91.91% in the first of two phases, while Tamil Nadu saw 84.80% voting, according to the latest data by the ECI.“Highest-ever polling percentage in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu since Independence — the ECI salutes every voter,” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, according to ANI.Several districts in West Bengal recorded over 90% turnout, led by Dakshin Dinajpur (94.85%), followed by Cooch Behar (94.54%), Birbhum (93.70%), Jalpaiguri (93.23%) and Murshidabad (92.93%).Tamil Nadu also saw strong participation, with Karur leading at 92.48%, followed by Salem (90.42%), Dharmapuri (90.02%), Erode (89.97%) and Namakkal (89.63%).Significantly, in West Bengal, female turnout reached a record 92.69%, compared to 90.92% for men. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, 85.76% of women voted, while male participation stood at 83.57%.Polling for all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 of 294 seats in West Bengal began at 7 am amid tight security. Voting for the remaining 142 seats in West Bengal will be held on April 29.Counting of votes in both states is scheduled for May 4.In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and the TMC have been in power since 2011, with the chief minister now seeking a fourth consecutive term. The BJP is the principal challenger after its best-ever performance in the state in 2021.In Tamil Nadu, the DMK, which heads the Secular Progressive Alliance, is in power. Its main challenger is the National Democratic Alliance, led in the state by the DMK’s arch-rival, the AIADMK.In the 2021 assembly elections, voter turnout stood at 85.2% in West Bengal and 76.6% in Tamil Nadu.
