West Bengal polls 2016: Cautious EC defers announcement of turnout figures

Kolkata, April 11: The Election Commission (EC) was extra cautious on Monday when it came to announcing the voter turnout every two hours.

According to reports, the commission said it would announce the voter turnout figures only after receiving written reports from the concerned district authorities. The panel said it will no more depend on SMSes. It means the practice of declaring voter turnout every two hours will not be followed this time.

The panel was cautious this time after the turnout figures revealed after phase 1A of the election held on April 4 created confusion. The final turnout went up to 84.22 per cent from 80.92 per cent after three days, inviting criticism from the Opposition parties who brought charges of manipulation.

The EC's decision to defer the announcement, however, invited more criticism as many said the panel has failed to conduct election in the state in a convincing way.

One news report, however, said that 20 per cent polling was recorded till 9 am.

Voting underway for the second part of the first phase of assembly elections in #WestBengal: 20% voter turnout recorded till 9 AM.

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 11, 2016

Thirty-one seats in the districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Burdwan went to the poll in phase 1B.

Oneindia News