Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reported a landmark voter turnout in West Bengal, with preliminary data indicating that 92.88 per cent of the electorate cast their votes during the first phase of Assembly elections across 152 constituencies. This figure, calculated up to midnight on Thursday (April 23), represents the highest participation rate in the state’s political history.

According to an official from the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) department, the current figure of 92.88 per cent is subject to further updates as the final tabulation is processed. He noted that the ultimate percentage "could be higher" once the final count is officially released.

The momentum was evident early on; by 5 pm on Thursday—an hour before the scheduled close of polls—the turnout had already reached 89.93 per cent, surpassing the previous record set during the 2011 Assembly elections. In that historic year, which saw the end of the 34-year Left Front administration, the average polling rate across six phases was 84.33 per cent.

Manoj Kumar Agarwal, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, stated that as the official 6 pm deadline passed, queues remained at approximately 5,000 polling booths, requiring the process to continue well into the evening. Agarwal attributed the surge in numbers partly to a cleaner electoral roll, noting that "the polling was conducted after the deduction of absent, missing, shifted and duplicate voters from the voters' list."

While the day was largely orderly, authorities took strict action against attempts to interfere with the democratic process, making 41 arrests on polling day and 571 preventive arrests in the lead-up to the event.

IANS