Elections were held to 63 constituencies of West Bengal spread across the districts of Purba Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly and parts of Burdwan.
“A little over 54 per cent polling was recorded till 1 pm,” Joint Chief Electoral Officer D. Sarkar said.
Additional CEO N.K. Sahana said polling has remained generally peaceful. Ten preventive arrests were made — six in Purba Medinipur and two each in Hooghly and Burdwan districts.
Mr. Sahana said voters protesting against lack of development in their respective areas are boycotting the polls in booth 86 of the Shyampur constituency, booths 91 and 91-A of Amta and booth 194 of Katwa constituency.
EVMs in 92 booths were replaced for technical reasons, he said, adding while 86 were replaced before the start of polls, six more were changed after the polling began.