Nearly 83 pc turnout recorded in eight LS seats of Bengal in sixth phase

A voter turnout of 82.71 per cent was recorded in the eight Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal where polling was held in the sixth phase, an election official said on Sunday.

Bishnupur recorded the highest polling percentage of 85.91 till 6 pm on Saturday, followed by Tamluk (84.79), Kanthi (84.77), Jhargram (83.47), Ghatal (82.17), Medinipur (81.56), Bankura (80.75) and Purulia (78.39), he said.

Polling began at 7 am in these constituencies and continued till 6 pm.

Altogether 1.45 crore voters, including 73.63 lakh men, 71.7 lakh women and 133 persons belonging to the third gender, were eligible to exercise their franchise at 15,600 polling stations.

Of the 79 candidates in the fray, Bankura and Jhargram had the highest number of 13 contestants each, followed by Purulia (12) and nine each in Medinipur and Tamluk seats.

Seven candidates each contested in the Bishnupur and Ghatal seats.

A total of 919 companies of central forces were deployed along with over 29,000 state police personnel, officials said.