NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu and West Bengal recorded bumper polling on Thursday, with the Election Commission (ECI) stating that both states saw their highest-ever voter turnout since Independence as voting concluded at 6 pm.
Polling ended at 6 pm, with West Bengal recording a turnout of 91.91% in the first of two phases, while Tamil Nadu saw 84.80% voting, according to the latest data from the ECI.
"Highest-ever polling percentage in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu since Independence — the ECI salutes every voter," Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, as reported by ANI.
Several districts in West Bengal registered over 90% turnout, led by Dakshin Dinajpur (94.85%), followed by Cooch Behar (94.54%), Birbhum (93.70%), Jalpaiguri (93.23%), and Murshidabad (92.93%).
Tamil Nadu also witnessed strong participation, with Karur leading at 92.48%, followed by Salem (90.42%), Dharmapuri (90.02%), Erode (89.97%), and Namakkal (89.63%).
Polling for all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 of 294 seats in West Bengal began at 7 am amid tight security. Voting for the remaining 142 seats in West Bengal will take place on April 29.
Counting of votes in both states is scheduled for May 4.
In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have been in power since 2011, with the chief minister now seeking a fourth consecutive term. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the principal challenger after its best-ever performance in the state in 2021.
In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which heads the Secular Progressive Alliance, is in power. Its main challenger is the National Democratic Alliance, led in the state by the DMK's arch-rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
In the 2021 assembly elections, voter turnout stood at 85.2% in West Bengal and 76.6% in Tamil Nadu.
