Nearly 62 per cent polling recorded in West Bengal till 1 pm

Kolkata/Patna: Nearly 62 per cent votes were cast till 1 PM in West Bengal, where polling is underway in six Lok Sabha constituencies in the fourth of the five-phase election in the state to decide the fate of 72 candidates.

"On an average, 61.6 per cent of the total 88,77,071 voters have cast their votes in the first six hours of polling in the six constituencies of Jhargram, Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur and Asansol," the OSD in CEO's office Amit Roy Chowdhury said.

Barring replacement of 17 EVMs during mock polling and thereafter due to malfunctioning in a number of booths, voting is peaceful except for some stray incidents, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sunil Gupta said.

"We have not yet received report of any major incident regarding disruption of law and order or complaint of booth jamming or violation of the model code of conduct," he said.

In a major move, the Election Commission has stepped up security arrangements for Jangalmahal, formerly a stronghold area of the Maoists, during today's poll with deployment of adequate central forces in and around all polling stations.

"Standard Operating Procedure of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is being followed strictly for the entire Fourth phase with priority to the left-wing extremist (LWE) areas," the CEO said.

Arrangements have been made for webcasting and live monitoring of sensitive areas where tight security has been provided by central forces.

The number of security personnel deployed for the polls this time is more than double as in the 2011 Assembly election in the state, the CEO said.

In Bihar, Sheohar registered 15 per cent voting, Sitamarhi 13 per cent, Muzaffarpur 18 per cent, Maharajganj 16 per cent, Saran 16 per cent, Hajipur (SC reserved) 16.15 per cent and Ujiyarpur 12.5 per cent respectively till 10 AM, an Election Office statement said.

Glitches in EVMs were reported in some places, while in Sitamarhi voters were boycotting the polls in some booths complaining of lack of development.

Bypoll to two Assembly seats of Chiraia and Maharajganj is also underway.

The Indo-Nepal border was sealed while 66,211 security personnel are deployed and two helicopters are keeping a watch from the sky.

Voting time was curtailed by two hours till 4 PM in 10 assembly segments in the seven LS seats as they fell in Maoist-hit areas. Voting would end at 6 PM in other places.

In West Bengal, Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said, "Over 45 per cent polling was recorded on an average in the first four hours of polling."

Elections are being held in six Parliamentary constituencies of Jhargram, Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur and Asansol.

Some EVMs had to be replaced after mock polling. In Midnapore, the 'MP' sticker on CPI candidate Prabodh Panda's car was removed allegedly by Trinamool Congress

supporters when he went to cast his vote, police sources said.

The Election Commission is providing stepped up security for Jangalmahal area with the deployment of adequate central forces in and around all Maoist-hit polling stations. Webcasting and live monitoring of sensitive areas is being held.

By-election to Kotulpur (SC) Assembly seat in Bankura district is underway.