The Election Commission (EC) in West Bengal has reported more than 100 complaints within the first three hours of polling across the Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seats, where Phase 1 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections is underway.
Today's voting has been overshadowed by renewed instances of political violence in the state, with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing each other of injuring their respective poll agents and workers. Allegations of disruption to the electoral process have further intensified tensions between the two parties.
As of 9am, over 15 per cent of the 56.26 lakh voters in the three Lok Sabha constituencies had exercised their franchise, an Election Commission official said. “Till 9 am, voter turnout in Cooch Behar is 15.26 per cent while that in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri is 15.91 per cent and 14.13 per cent respectively, the official said.
Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am. Voters will exercise the franchise until 6:00 pm.