Bengal elections: Repolling underway at 15 booths in South 24 Parganas, 86.9% turnout till 5 pm

Voting was underway on Saturday at 15 polling stations in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal where the Election Commission had ordered repolls a day ago.

The polling, being held at 11 electoral booths in the Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency and four stations in the Diamond Harbour seat, began at 7 am.

Till 5 pm, a turnout of 86.9% was recorded across these polling booths, ANI reported. The polling booths in the Magrahat Paschim seat recorded a turnout of 86.11%, while those in Diamond Harbour registered a figure of 87.6%.

Voting at the 15 booths had taken place in the second phase of the Assembly elections on Wednesday. The first phase was held on April 23. The votes will be counted on Monday.

The provisional overall voter turnout in the state after both phases was a record 92.4%, the Election Commission said.

The Election Commission panel declared the polls at the 15 booths void based on reports from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and “material circumstances”.

This was the first instance in which repolling was ordered as part of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

On Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the Trinamool Congress had tampered with voting machines in Falta in the Diamond Harbour area. It had claimed...

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