Bengal sees 62.18% voter turnout till 1 pm; Tamil Nadu records 56.81%

Kolkata/Chennai: Voting commenced on Thursday, April 23, across 152 constituencies in West Bengal during the first phase of the Assembly elections, as well as in all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, with authorities putting in place extensive security measures for what is being seen as a high-stakes electoral contest.

The Election Commission of India indicated that more than 3.60 crore voters were eligible to cast their ballots in this phase in West Bengal, including approximately 1.75 crore women and 465 third-gender voters.

Officials noted that around 2,450 companies of central paramilitary forces, amounting to nearly 2.5 lakh personnel, had been deployed, with over 8,000 polling stations categorised as highly sensitive, Siasat Daily reported.

In Tamil Nadu, the electorate stands at 5.73 crore, voting across 75,064 polling stations set up in 33,133 locations to decide the fate of 4,023 candidates. The voter base includes about 2.93 crore women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender individuals.

Polling data released by the Election Commission showed that West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 62.18% by 1 pm.

Meanwhile, residents of Pottalurani village reportedly boycotted the election following an earlier call for abstention. Locals said their protest was aimed at drawing attention to unresolved concerns over fish waste processing units operating near their homes, alleging that authorities had failed to address their long-standing demand for permanent closure. They pointed out that this marked the second consecutive election in which the village had opted for a boycott.

In Tamil Nadu, several prominent political leaders and public figures were seen casting their votes early in the day. Among them were Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami, TVK chief Vijay, AMMK leader T. T. V. Dhinakaran, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, and DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth.

Several film personalities, including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith Kumar, R. Sarathkumar, Radhika Sarathkumar, Dhanush, and Sivakarthikeyan, were also reported to have voted at their respective polling booths.