West Bengal assembly poll records highest voters’ turnout since independence

West Bengal registered a record 92.47 per cent voter turnout in the two-phase polling in the assembly elections which concluded yesterday (29 April), the highest in the state since India's independence, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

In 2013, Tripura had recorded the highest ever voter turnout in an assembly election at 93.61 per cent.

In percentage terms, women voters outnumbered men in both the phases of polling.

With a total of 294 assembly seats, West Bengal has a voter base of 6.81 crore. Previously, the highest voter turnout in the state was 84.72 per cent in the 2011 assembly polls when Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress came to power for the first time.

The turnout in West Bengal in Phase 2 of the recent Assembly elections stood at 91.66 per cent. In Phase I of the elections on 23 April, the electorate participation was 93.19 per cent. "The combined poll percentage over the two phases stands at 92.47 per cent," the EC said.

In Phase 1, an estimated 92.69 per cent of women voters turned up at the polling stations, compared to 90.92 per cent of men.

In Phase II, according to the Election Commission, 92.28 per cent of the total women electors voted as compared to 91.07 per cent of men.

Commenting on the impressive voter turnout, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, "For the highest ever percentage of polling in West Bengal since Independence, the EC salutes each voter of the state."

The counting of votes for will be taken up on 4 May.