National

Over 53 Per Cent Turnout In West Bengal By-Polls

As the voting was held till 6.30 pm, the chief electoral officer's (CEO) office released revised figures on Wednesday.

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West Bengal by-polls.
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Altogether 53.82 per cent of the around 17.5 lakh voters exercised their franchise in by-elections to Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and Ballygunge Assembly seat in West Bengal, an official said on Wednesday.

The by-polls went off peacefully barring minor incidents of violence and saw around 52.5 per cent voting till 5 pm on Tuesday.

As the voting was held till 6.30 pm, the chief electoral officer's (CEO) office released revised figures on Wednesday. 

As per the fresh figures, 66.42 per cent and 41.23 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and Ballygunge Assembly seat respectively, the official said.

Around 15 lakh and 2.5 lakh voters were eligible to vote in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district and Ballygunge in south Kolkata respectively.

In contrast, the Asansol Lok Sabha seat witnessed a turnout of around 76.62 per cent in the 2019 general elections, whereas the Ballygunge assembly constituency saw a 61 per cent voter turnout in last year's assembly polls.

The by-elections were necessitated as former Union minister Babul Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year.

The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population. The BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul.

The party of Mamata Banerjee has fielded Supriyo in Ballygunge where he is pitted against BJP's Keya Ghosh and CPI(M)’s Saira Shah Halim. The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.