KOLKATA/CHENNAI, April 23: West Bengal registered a record voter turnout of nearly 92 per cent in the first phase of assembly polls on Thursday amid sporadic incidents of violence, while Tamil Nadu recorded unprecedented voting of over 84 per cent as the BJP pushed to unseat Mamata Banerjee in Bengal and expand in the South.
In the first phase, 152 constituencies in West Bengal went to polls while voting for the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly was held in one go.
The elections are taking place against the backdrop of a massive political row over the SIR of the electoral rolls, a major flashpoint between the BJP and opposition parties, including the TMC.
Terming the massive voter turnout in Bengal “an overwhelming mandate for change,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that May 4, when votes will be counted, would mark the “expiry” of the “TMC’s 15-year-old syndicate system and maha jungle raj” in West Bengal, while Banerjee asserted that polling held so far in the first phase indicates “the TMC is already in a position to win.”
The second phase for the remaining 142 of 294 seats in West Bengal will be held on April 29. Counting of votes in all states/UTs will take place on May 4. (PTI)
