Voters wait in queues to cast votes at a polling station during the 7th phase of West Bengal Assembly elections at a village near Balurghat in South Dinajpur district on Monday.
A total of 75.06 per cent voter turnout was registered on Monday in phase seven of the West Bengal Assembly polls, the Election Commission said. The poll panel noted that the turnout figures were provisional and recorded at 5 pm when the voting was still on. Polling was held "peacefully" in 11,376 polling stations spread across 34 constituencies in West Bengal.
In a statement, the poll panel said 5,982 (52.58 per cent) out of 11,376 polling stations were monitored live through webcasting. During the ongoing elections till this phase in West Bengal, a record seizure of Rs 332.94 crore has been reported till date.
The progressive seizure of all five states/UT as on date is Rs 1,035.54 crore (this includes seizures of Rs 12.11 crore in bye-elections also). Fifteen live bombs were found in the Ballygunge assembly seat with the help of bomb squad and a fog squad.
On a tip off, 19 crude bombs were recovered in two bags near Hooghly Jute Mill Colony with the assistance of the Bomb Disposal Squad. Two miscreants carrying seven improvised country made serviceable guns and a "single barrel long musket gun" were arrested in Malda district, the statement said. A total of 11,376 Ballot Units (BUs), 11,376 Control Units(CUs) and 11,376 VVPATs were used in West Bengal during this phase.
"Non-functioning rate of EVMs and VVPATs during the poll is comparable to what was experienced in the last few polls," it said. One CU, at least one BU and one paper trail machine makes for one EVM.
Bengal elections phase 7 polling | Highlights
07:00 pm: Polling conlcudes in the seventh phase of Bengal assembly elections 2021.
06:00 pm: 75.06% voter turnout recorded till 5.31pm in the seventh phase of West Bengal Assembly elections.
04:22 pm: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee shows victory symbol after she cast her vote at a polling station in Kolkata.
03:30 pm: 67.27% voter turnout recorded till 3.30 PM in the seventh phase of West Bengal Assembly elections.
02:16 pm: 55.12 pc voter turnout till 1 pm in 34 assembly seats where polling is underway in 7th phase
12:51 pm: 37.72 per cent voter turnout recorded till 11 am
11:10 am: I am an agent at booth number 91. Members of TMC, who are residents of the village, told me that they won't let me there as I'm not a voter there. They forcefully pushed me out. I was threatened by them: Sankar Sakar, BJP polling agent
11:07 am: A BJP polling agent Sankar Sakar alleges he was forcefully pushed out of booth number 91 by TMC members and made to leave the spot in Bakhra village of Ratua, Malda. A TMC member says, "He is not a voter here so we asked him to leave respectfully. Nobody threatened him."
11:00 am: EC has said that you can't wear anything that has your party's symbol or a political leader's picture. This is Mamata Banerjee's trick. She knows people won't vote for her. Her time is up. The agent says that he didn't know about it. I will complain: Agnimitra Paul, BJP
10:56 am: Agnimitra Paul, BJP candidate from Asansol Dakshin Assembly constituency in Paschim Bardhaman says that the TMC polling agent was wearing a cap with CM's photo on it, at a polling booth in Baktarnagar High School
09:57 am: 17.95 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am in 34 assembly seats
09:25 am: Wherever I've been campaigning I've seen people's support for only one face-our CM's...Why was EC sleeping all this while? When PM decided he won't hold any public meetings, EC decided to call off all public meetings. It listens to PM & HM more than anyone else: Nusrat Jahan Ruhi
09:23 am: TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi and her parents cast vote at a polling booth in Kolkata
TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi and her parents cast vote at a polling booth in Kolkata
08:41 am: People queue up outside a polling booth in Murshidabad
08:24 am: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee casts his vote
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee casts his vote
08:01 am: Kolkata: TMC candidate from Bhowanipore constituency, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay cast his vote for the seventh phase of West Bengal elections. "People will vote for Mamata Banerjee, her projects, her development has reached all homes. This election is being held on those issues. I have been in politics since 1962. This is the first time I am voting for myself," he says
07:39 am: BJP candidate from Ratua constituency in Malda cast his vote for 7th phase of West Bengal elections
BJP candidate from Ratua constituency in Malda cast his vote for 7th phase of West Bengal elections
07:22 am: People cast their votes for the seventh phase of West Bengal polls
07:00 am: Voting for 7th phase begins on 34 seats
06:56 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges voters to vote in record numbers. "The seventh phase of the West Bengal elections takes place today. Urging people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols," tweets prime minister
06:51 am: Election officials conduct mock poll at a polling booth in Murshidabad
06:46 am: Preparations underway at a polling booth in Garden Reach area of Kolkata
06:39 am: Election officials conduct mock poll at a polling booth in Asansol
06:35 am: Voters queue up outisde a polling booth in Balurghat; voting for the seventh phase of West Bengal elections
Ahead of the polls, West Bengal had 81,375 active COVID-19 cases on Sunday, according to Union Health Ministry and Family Welfare. As many as 10,884 people have lost their lives due to the deadly virus in the state.
The rapid upsurge of coronavirus had forced the Election Commission to prohibit roadshows, 'padyatras' and big public meetings in poll-bound West Bengal from Thursday evening.
Bengal polls 7th phase voting: Candidates and constituencies
- From the Siliguri constituency, CPI(M)'s Ashok Bhattacharya is the key contestant against BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh and TMC's Omprakash Mishra. Bhattacharya, the former Mayor of Siliguri is a prominent communist leader in North Bengal
- Senior TMC leader and minister in the state government Bratya Basu is contesting from Dum Dum. CPI(M) has fielded Palash Das and BJP has fielded Bimal Shankar Nanda from the constituency
- Actor Chiranjeet Chakraborty will contest from Barasat on the behalf of TMC against BJP candidate Shankar Chatterjee and Forward Bloc candidate Sanjib Chattopadhyay
- While BJP has fielded Anandamoy Barman from the Matigara-Naxalbari constituency, Congress has fielded sitting MLA Sankar Malakar and TMC will rely on Captain Nalini Ranjan Ray. Malakar has been representing the Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly constituency since 2011
- In Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong constituencies, TMC has not fielded its candidate as GJM is backing the TMC
West Bengal is going through an eight-phased assembly election this year. Polling for phases 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the state elections took place on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17 and April 22 respectively. Polling for the final phase will be held on April 29 while the counting of votes will take place on May 2.
