West Bengal recorded the maximum voter turnout of 36.88 per cent against a total of 25.76 per cent across the country till 11 am, even as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker’s death on Friday and slogan shouting against former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay marked polling in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
On Friday night, a Trinamool Congress worker in Mahisadal in Purba Medinipore district was killed by unidentified people, police said.
The deceased, who has been identified as Sheikh Moibul, was a member of the local panchayat samity, police officials added.
A crowd shouted slogans against Gangopadhyay when he reached the polling booth in Tamluk, the constituency from where he is contesting, on Saturday.
A large contingent of security personnel was deployed to bring the situation under control and disperse the crowd, a polling official said. “We have taken note of the matter and a report has been sought from the presiding officer,” he added.
Of the 79 candidates in the fray in the state’s Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur constituencies, Bankura and Jhargram have the highest number of 13 contestants each, followed by Purulia (12) and nine each in Medinipur and Tamluk.
Ghatal recorded the highest polling at 39.21 per cent, followed by Jhargram (38.24 per cent), Tamluk (38.05 per cent), Kanthi (38.03 per cent), Bishnupur (37.98 per cent), Bankura (35.84 per cent), Medinipur (34.41 per cent) and Purulia (33.16 per cent).
Apart from the slogan-shouting voting was peaceful. “There are no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere,” the poll official told PTI.
Seven candidates each are contesting in the Bishnupur and Ghatal seats.
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