“The turnout so far is good. In the first four hours, voting has been recorded at 59 per cent,” the officials said, adding no untoward incident was recorded.
Bankura and Burdwan districts recorded the highest turnout at 60 per cent each closely followed by West Midnapore and Purulia districts where 59 and 58 per cent voters turned out respectively.
Amid tight security, polling began this morning for the fifth of the six-phase West Bengal Assembly. An electorate of over 74.17 lakh will elect their representatives from among 193 candidates, including Health Minister Suryakanta Mishra and WBPCC president Manas Bhunia.
The Left Front is contesting all the 38 seats while Trinamool Congress has fielded candidates in 33 and alliance partner Congress in five. The BJP has fielded candidates in all the seats.
The Left Front’s stake is high in these seats because during its rout at the hands of the Trinamool Congress in south Bengal in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the four districts, known as the red fort, rebuffed the winds of change blowing across Bengal.