BENGAL SEES OVER 78% POLLING IN FIFTH PHASE

KOLKATA: West Bengal saw 78.36% voter turnout till 6.30 pm in the fifth phase of the Assembly election on Saturday. Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab said that the polling “was held peacefully” in 15,789 polling stations spread across 45 Assembly constituencies. The polling was held in six districts—jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman. Jalpaiguri recorded the highest turnout with 81.71%, while Purba Bardhaman and Nadia registered 81.67% and 81.50%. A total of 319 candidates, including 38 women, contested in this phase. Among the 45 constituencies, Maynaguri reported the highest turnout of voters at 85.65%, while the Matigara-naxalbari constituency recorded 81.65% and Barasat recorded 77.71%.