An estimated 70 pc turnout recorded in Bengal polling

Kolkata, Apr 27: About 70 per cent of 12.5 million voters today exercised their franchise in Kolkata and its adjoining North and South Twentyfour Parganas districts in West Bengal in peaceful polling amid high security and strict vigil of the Election Commission.

Election office sources said while Kolkata recorded about 60 per cent polling, 74 per cent votes were polled in South Twentyfour Parganas and 75 per cent in North Twentyfour Parganas.

At several booths, polling was continuing beyond the deadline of 1700 hours, indicating that the turnout might go up later.

Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee said altogether 154 people had been arrested in the city for disorderly behaviour and there was no report of any violence.

However, at least six CPI(M) and three Forward Bloc workers were arrested from Bijpur and Jagatdal Assembly constituencies respectively for allegedly intimidating voters.

Tension ran high in front of a polling booth at Haltu in Jadavpur constituency, from where Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is seeking reelection, when a fire cracker was burst which the voters mistook for a bomb explosion.

The panicked people, standing in queues, ran helter skelter as the security force jawans rushed out to nab two persons for the mischief.

Additional polling officer in booth number 97 at Malatipur polling station in Basirhat constituency Tapan Orao died of heart attack while on duty.

The police official, who fell sick during the polling hours, died on way to the sub-divisional hospital.

The fate of 473 candidates, including 36 women, was at stake in this phase.

Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee cast his vote in a South Kolkata booth.

His predecessor Jyoti Basu, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty, Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Bose, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, former Kolkata Corporation Mayor Subrata Mukherjee and former Congress president Somen Mitra were among the other prominent voters.

Polling took place in 76 out of 77 Assembly constituencies to elect representatives from among 473 candidates, including 36 women.

Prominent among those contesting elections are the Chief Minister, Information Technology Minister Manab Mukherjee, Labour Minister Mohammad Amin, Housing Minister Gautam Deb, Land Reforms Minister Abdur Rezzak Molla, Sundarbans Development Minister Kanti Ganguly, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, PWD Minister Amar Chaudhury, Transport Minister Subhas Chakravarty and Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim.

Former city Mayor Subrata Mukherjeee is also in the fray as a Congress candidate, while Bengali film stars Biplab Chatterjee and Tapas Paul are locked in a glamour fight as CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress nominees respectively.

Election to Bhatpara Assembly seat, countermanded following the death of BSP candidate, would take place on May 16.

More than 50,000 central para miliatry force jawans manned all the 13,790 polling booths and patrolled streets.

Like the first two phases, 3,000 digital cameras were used to take photographs of voters without having photo identity cards.

There was a massive deletion from the electoral rolls for the third phase of polling with 2.92 lakh names being dropped out of the list.

UNI