Our Bureau
Chennai/ Kolkata
India’s Assembly elections saw a historic surge in people voting as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu recorded the highest voter turnout in their history on Thursday. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said West Bengal recorded a massive 91.91 per cent turnout, while Tamil Nadu crossed 84.80 per cent polling, calling it the “highest ever” since Independence.
In West Bengal, all 152 Assembly seats went to the polls in the first phase. Districts such as Dakshin Dinajpur (94.85 per cent), Cooch Behar (94.54 per cent), Birbhum (93.70 per cent), Jalpaiguri (93.23 per cent) and Murshidabad (92.93 per cent) each saw over 90 per cent turnout. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Bengal’s turnout was 85.2 per cent, making the latest figure a clear jump.
Tamil Nadu recorded 84.80 per cent voting in all 234 constituencies, beating its earlier record of 78.29 per cent set in 2011. The state has an electorate of about 5.73 crore voters. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the high turnout was a “powerful endorsement” of democracy and congratulated the voters of both states.
With over 80 per cent of voters in Tamil Nadu and nearly 92 per cent in West Bengal turning out, the ECI described the elections as a “festival of democracy.” The record numbers have now put pressure on all political parties to respond to the clear message of active public participation.
