West Bengal and Tamil Nadu etched their names into electoral history on Thursday, recording their highest-ever voter turnout since Independence. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar confirmed the milestone figures 91.91 per cent in West Bengal and 84.80 per cent in Tamil Nadu and said the numbers marked a historic high since 1947.
“Highest ever percentage of polling in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu since Independence ECI salutes each voter of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” Kumar said.
Both states saw heavy participation despite sporadic violence in parts of Bengal and a tightly contested multi-cornered race in Tamil Nadu.
West Bengal: Record Polling, Sporadic Clashes
The first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm. While participation was overwhelming, clashes between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers were reported across several constituencies.
In Murshidabad, supporters of Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party and TMC workers came to blows, forcing police and central forces to resort to baton charges to disperse the crowd. Vehicles were vandalised during the unrest. BJP candidate from Kumarganj Assembly constituency, Suvendu Sarkar, was allegedly assaulted by TMC members after he rushed to a polling booth alleging booth jamming. The Election Commission called for detailed reports while maintaining that voting remained “largely peaceful.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed confidence in her party’s performance, stating: “From my understanding of people’s mind, we are already in a position to win given the polling held so far today.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a rally in Krishnanagar, hailed the turnout as an “overwhelming mandate for change,” adding: “This is the first time in the last 50 years of poll history in West Bengal that incidents of violence were kept at a minimum.”
Tamil Nadu: Three-Way Battle, Steady Participation
Tamil Nadu voted in a single phase, with roughly 5.67 crore eligible voters recording 84.80 per cent turnout by 7 pm. The state is witnessing a three-cornered contest between the ruling DMK, the AIADMK-BJP alliance, and actor Vijay’s TVK.
District-wise, Chennai recorded 83.09 per cent, Madurai 80.15 per cent, Coimbatore 84.40 per cent, and Tiruchirappalli 85.04 per cent. Kolathur constituency in Chennai, where DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin is contesting, saw 85.63 per cent polling by 6 pm.
Edappadi constituency in Salem led the state at 91.61 per cent turnout. AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is defending his traditional stronghold against a DMK challenge. TVK backed an independent candidate in the seat after its own nominee’s papers were rejected on technical grounds during scrutiny.
Malpractice Allegations and Isolated Incidents
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai alleged widespread vote-buying, claiming voters were being offered Rs 5,000 per vote and half-gram gold coins in Karur Assembly constituency. “All of this didn’t happen in a single day. This money has come from somewhere. It has been hidden somewhere. They have micro-managed it somewhere,” he said, also faulting the Election Commission over insufficient voter transport arrangements.
Clashes between booth agents were reported at Keezhavasal in Madurai and Kalasapakkam in Tiruvannamalai. In one incident, an agent of an independent candidate allegedly damaged a control unit, which was subsequently replaced. In Tirupattur, a TVK supporter was arrested after allegedly filming himself pressing the EVM button in the party’s favour and sharing the clip on social media.
On a lighter note, newly married couples arrived at polling booths in wedding attire across Chennai, Kanchipuram, Namakkal, and Krishnagiri to cast their votes.