Bengal polls: All eyes on exit poll results as state records 76% voter turnout till 5.30pm

The eighth and final phase of Bengal elections concluded at 6.30 pm on Thursday (April 29) with stray incidents of violence being reported from some areas. The Election Commission (EC) stated that overall voting happened peacefully with 76.07% voter turnout till 5.30pm.

All eyes are now on the exit poll results, which will begin only after 7.30 pm, as per the EC orders.

Earlier in the day, unidentified people threw a bomb outside Mahajati Sadan in north Kolkata. No one was injured in the incident, reports said.

The BJP candidate from Jarasanko, Meena Devi Purohit, alleged that the bomb was aimed at her vehicle. “They tried to kill me. The attack was meant to scare the voters,” Purohit alleged. The Election Commission has sought details of the incident.

Voting started at 7 am amid the fast-spreading COVID pandemic. A total of 35 constituencies spread across districts of Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, and north Kolkata will decide the political fate of 285 candidates.

Also read: Phase 8 voting in Bengal today: Here’s how state polled amid COVID-19

West Bengal recorded 17,207 fresh cases on Wednesday (April 28), the highest-single day spike recorded so far, pushing the tally to 7,93,552, the health department said. The death toll rose to 11,159 with 77 more fatalities which is also the maximum count during a day, it said.

Key contests in the eigth phase are on five seats in north Kolkata — Beleghata, Jorsanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur-Belgachia — between the ruling TMC and BJP. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

Also read: The pan India climax to BJP’s Bengal story