West Bengal Records Historic 92.47% Turnout, Highest Since Independence

The high-stakes West Bengal assembly elections ended on Wednesday, April 29, with a massive voter turnout of 91.66 per cent in the second and final phase. As of 7.45 pm, poll participation in West Bengal in phase II of assembly elections stood at 91.66 per cent. In phase I of the elections on April 23, the poll participation was 93.19 per cent.West Bengal has registered a record 92.47 per cent voter turnout in two-phased assembly polls, the highest since Independence, the Election Commission said on Wednesday. In phase I of the elections on April 23, the poll participation was 93.19 per cent.Previously, the highest voter turnout in the state was 84.72 per cent in the 2011 assembly polls. "As of 7:45 PM, poll-participation in West Bengal (Phase-II)

stood at 91.66%. In phase -I of the West Bengal general elections, the poll-participation was 93.19%. The combined poll-percentage over the two-phases stands at 92.47%. Previously, the highest poll-participation in WB was 84.72% (2011 GELA)," the Election Commission of India said.

On the historic voter-turnout, Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India, said, "Highest ever percentage of polling in West Bengal in both Phase I & II since Independence - Chunav ka Parv, Paschim Bengal ka Garv." Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said voters are casting their vote in West Bengal this time in a "fearless atmosphere", which was unimaginable in the past six or seven decades. He also asserted that the assembly poll results on May 4 will further strengthen the resolve of a developed India.The result will have a far-reaching verdict on whether chief minister Mamata Banerjee will continue her dominance or the BJP will break the TMC's hold in the state.