West Bengal bypolls: Over 14% voting till 9 AM in 6 assembly seats

Kolkata: A voter turnout of over 14 per cent was recorded till 9 AM on Wednesday for by-elections to six assembly seats in West Bengal, an EC official said.

Polling for by-elections to Sitai, Madarihat, Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Taldangra assembly constituencies started at 7 AM, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.

Voting will continue till 5 PM, he added.

"Polling has been peaceful. No untoward incident has been reported from the assembly constituencies where voting is underway," the Election Commission official said.

Notably, five of these constituencies are in the TMC strongholds of south Bengal, while Madarihat remains a BJP bastion in the northern part of the state.

Altogether 108 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed for the by-elections.

The bypolls were necessitated following the resignations of MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the general elections this year.

Both the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP have fielded candidates for all six seats.

The CPI (M)-led Left Front and the Congress are contesting the by-elections separately for the first time since 2021, following a recent change in the Bengal Congress leadership.

The Left Front has announced candidates for five of the six seats, including one CPI(ML) nominee.

The Congress has fielded candidates in all six assembly segments.

Votes will be counted on November 23.