Kolkata: The first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections witnessed an unprecedented voter turnout of 92.6%, significantly higher than the 81.5% recorded in the 2021 assembly polls. This figure also surpassed the 84.3% turnout of 2011, which had ended the Left Front's 34-year rule. The Election Commission confirmed that this is the highest turnout ever recorded for any phase of elections in the country.
Factors Behind the Surge in Voting
The high turnout has been attributed to multiple factors, including the deletion of 58.2 lakh dead and absent voters across all 294 seats. This weeding out of non-existent voters automatically pushed up the percentage. Additionally, many voters returned from out-of-state workplaces specifically to cast their ballots, driven by fears related to the Special Identity Review (SIR) process.
Lakimuddin Sheikh, who returned from Maharashtra to vote in Murshidabad's Panchla Bazar, said: "I came back to vote this time only because I was scared that not exercising my franchise could lead to further problems later. Two of my brothers' names were under adjudication and four of my nephews' names were deleted. I did not want to risk losing my voting rights."
Political Reactions to the Turnout
The surge in turnout prompted both major political players to claim an edge. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the high turnout indicated a decisive voter preference for Trinamool, largely due to anti-SIR sentiment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, interpreted the turnout as "a storm of change" that would take the BJP to Nabanna (the state secretariat).
Political analyst Zaad Mahmood of Presidency University cautioned: "It may be premature to interpret this huge turnout as an anti-incumbency wave. It may instead point to the insecurity created around voting rights and reflect how important voting is for a large section of citizens."
Constituencies with Highest Turnout
Two constituencies in Murshidabad district, Raghunathganj and Bhaganbola, led the surge with identical turnouts of 96.9%. These areas saw the maximum number of voter deletions during the SIR exercise. Shamsherganj, also in Murshidabad and the constituency with the highest number of SIR deletions, recorded 96% polling.
South Dinajpur topped the district-wise turnout chart with 95.2%, despite over 1.7 lakh deletions. It was followed by Coochbehar (95.1% turnout; 2.2 lakh-plus deletions) and Birbhum (94.1% turnout; 2.5 lakh deletions). Even Darjeeling, the lowest performer, recorded a robust 88.4%.
Official Explanation
Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal attributed the unprecedented turnout to the deletion of "absent, shifted, dead/duplicate" voters, which reduced the electorate size and weeded out non-existent names. He noted that this contributed to the higher percentage, but also acknowledged the enthusiasm of genuine voters.
The second phase of polling is scheduled for next Wednesday, and the final results will be announced on May 4. Whether the overall turnout will break the 2011 record remains to be seen.
