West Bengal Assembly election 2021 voting percentage LIVE Update: Over 1.15 crore electors to vote in phase 4 polls

09:18 (IST)

West Bengal election LATEST updates

Long queues seen outside polling stations

Voting is underway with adherence to COVID-19 protocols in nine seats in Howrah district, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar, nine in Cooch Behar and 10 in Hooghly.

Long queues were seen outside polling stations where voting will continue till 6.30 pm.

PTI

09:11 (IST)

West Bengal election LATEST updates

Fate of 373 candidates to be decided in fourth phase

A total 1,15,81,022 voters will decide the fate of 373 candidates in Saturday's polling in the 44 constituencies.

The electoral fates of Union Minister Babul Supriyo and West Bengal ministers Partha Chatterjee and Arup Biswas will be decided on Saturday when votes will be cast for the fourth phase of the high octane poll in West Bengal, for which is stage is set.

Two MPs of the BJP are also in the fray for the 10 April poll when elections will be held in 44 seats covering Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts in north Bengal and parts of South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hoogly in the southern part of the state.

A total 1,15,81,022 voters will decide the fate of 373 candidates in Saturday's polling in the 44 constituencies.

Bengal has already completed voting for 91 of the 204 Assembly seats in the first, second and third phases held on 27 March, 1 April and 6 April. The voter turnout in the three phases of the Assembly election in the state was 84.13 percent, 86.11 percent and 84.61 percent, respectively.

Polling in the previous three phases saw sporadic incidents of violence with members of all political parties, including some TMC candidates, facing attacks by rival camps.

Following complaints by political parties alleging that Trinamool Congress had engaged agents who had accompanied and assisted voters to cast their votes in favour of the TMC at a polling station in the Jangipara assembly constituency during the phase three election, the EC has ordered repolling in one polling station on 10 April as well.

Keeping the incidents of violence in mind, the Election Commission has deployed at least 789 companies of the central armed police force (CAPF) in 15,940 polling stations spread over the 44 constituencies.

The Election Commission has deployed at least 789 companies of the central armed police force (CAPF) in 15,940 polling stations spread over the 44 constituencies.

Each company of CAPF comprises of 100 personnel including officers.

The highest deployment of 187 companies of CAPF will be in Cooch Behar, which has witnessed sporadic incidents of violence in the run up to the elections including an attack on BJP state president Dilip Ghosh allegedly by TMC supporters.

In one of the high profile contests of this phase, Babul Supriyo will lock horns with sitting MLA Arup Biswas at Tollygunj, known to be the heart of the Bengali film industry in the southern outskirts of Kolkata, while Partha Chatterjee, who is also the TMC's secretary-general, will take on film actor Srabanti Chatterjee of the BJP in Behala West seat to return to the Assembly for the fourth successive term.

Also in the fray on Saturday is TMC turncoat Rajib Banerjee, a former minister of the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, who will contest from Domjur in Howrah district on a BJP ticket.

BJP MPs Locket Chatterjee and Nisith Pramanik are contesting from Chuchura and Dinhata seats in Hoogly and Cooch Behar districts respectively. Their presence in the poll fray for the state assembly had led the TMC supremo to quip that the saffron party is fielding its parliamentary members as it does not have suitable candidates.

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