Lok Sabha Elections: West Bengal records 77.57 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm

New Delhi: West Bengal is leading the voter turnout charts after it recorded a 77.57 voting percentage in the state till 5 pm as per the data released by the Election Commission of India.

According to Election Commission data at 5 pm, Tripura recorded a 76.10 poll percentage. It was 63.92 per cent for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam (70.77 per cent), Chhattisgarh (63.41 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (65.08 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (63.25 per cent) Manipur (68.58 per cent), Meghalaya (69.91 per cent), Mizoram (52.91 per cent), Nagaland (55.97 per cent), Puducherry (72.84 per cent), Sikkim (68.06 per cent).

While Uttar Pradesh recorded 57.54 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm.

In Tamil Nadu, where all 39 Lok Sabha seats are going to the polls, the voting percentage was 62.08 per cent till 5 pm. In Uttarakhand, where polling is being held on all five parliamentary seats, the voting percentage was 53.56 per cent.

The polling percentage was relatively low till 5 pm in Bihar (46.32 per cent), Andaman and Nicobar islands recorded (56.87 per cent), Lakshadweep (59.02 per cent), Maharashtra (54.85 per cent), Rajasthan (50.27 per cent).

According to Election Commission data at 5 pm, it was 63.92 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh and 68.06 per cent in Sikkim.

Voting is being held in 102 seats in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election.

Voting for India's parliamentary election, the largest democratic exercise in the world, began at 7 am with the Election Commission urging people to exercise their franchise in maximum numbers.

Of the 102 seats going to the polls on Friday, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 43 seats and parties in the INDIA bloc 48 seats in the 2019 election. While the BJP-led NDA is seeking its third consecutive term in office under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the INDIA bloc is hoping to oust it from power.

Polling is being held in 21 states and union territories in the first phase. These are - Arunachal Pradesh (two seats), Assam (five), Bihar (four), Chhattisgarh (one), Madhya Pradesh (six), Maharashtra (five), Manipur (two), Meghalaya (two), Mizoram (one), Nagaland (one), Rajasthan (12), Sikkim (one), Tamil Nadu (39), Tripura (one), Uttar Pradesh (eight), Uttarakhand (five), West Bengal (three), Andaman and Nicobar (one), Jammu and Kashmir (one), Lakshadweep (one) and Puducherry (one).

Polling will be completed in a single phase today in Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, voting will take place across all seven phases starting April 19.

The poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission on March 16. Bypolls to 26 assembly constituencies will also be held alongside the Lok Sabha and four state assembly polls.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in India in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The results will be announced on June 4.