Bengal polls phase 4: Final turnout 81.25%

Kolkata, April 25: Amid sweltering heat and allegations of electoral malpractice, forty-nine constituencies in Howrah and North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal went to polls in the fourth phase of the ongoing Assembly election.

Balloting began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm.

• Assembly Polls 2016 Coverage
• Phase 4: List of constituencies
• Phase 4: 2011 results in Phase 4 seats
• Phase 4: Top candidates
• Phase 4: Top 10 contests
• Phase 4: Do-or-die for BJP
• Phase 4: Madan Mitra's fate to be decided
• Phase 4: Security tightened in Salt Lake, Howrah

A brief look at Phase 4:

• Total constituencies: 49
• Total districts: Howrah (16) and North 24-Parganas (33)
• Total voters: 1.08 crore
• Female voters: 52.24 lakh
• Total candidates: 345
• Female candidates: 40
• Polling stations: 12,481
• EVMs: 14,353 (VVPAT - 680)
• Party-wise candidates: TMC, BJP - 49 each; BSP - 35; Left - 34; Congress - 12; Independents - 96; Others - 70

End of updates for phase 4.

7.14 pm: Voter turnout at 5 pm: 78.05%
Howrah: 75.46%; North 24 Parganas: 79.16%

7.04 pm: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former chief minister of Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to share stage in Kolkata on April 27, ahead of phase 5 on April 30.

6.40 pm: Polling has concluded for phase 4. Awaiting the final turnout figures.

6.00 pm: Clash between TMC and CPI-M workers in Howrah leaves two TMC workers injured.

Howrah (WB): Clash between TMC & CPI-M workers, two TMC workers injured #WestBengalElections2016 pic.twitter.com/mPNXwFLHHp

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2016

4.10 pm: Voter turnout till 3 pm: 67.28%
Howrah: 67.31%; North 24 Parganas: 67.27%

3.50 pm: TMC cadres threatened to rape a woman for giving water to a Left candidate, say TV reports.

3.35 pm: EC receives 2,000 complaints till 3 pm. The most number of complaints have come from North 24 Parganas.

3.27 pm: Two people have been arrested in connection to the heckling of a child on Bijpur constituency in North 24 Parganas.

3.25 pm: TMC panchayat leader in Aamta attacked twice in the day. His house was first attacked with bombs. Later, his pregnant wife was heckled. The Congress has been accused for the attack.

2.50 pm: 2 TMC supporters injured after TMC and BJP supporters clash in Aamta in Howrah district.

2.44 pm: FIR filed against Roopa Ganguly for allegedly beating up a woman voter. It would not have happened had the presiding officer worked properly, she said.

2.16 pm: Temperature now: Howrah - 39 degree Celsius; North 24 Parganas - 39 degree C; Kolkata - 39 degree C

2.15 pm: Voter turnout till 1 pm: 52.22%
Howrah: 52.43%; North 24 Parganas: 52.12%

1.50 pm: BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee, who found herself in controversy for shouting at a polling officer in Mayureswar constituency in Birbhum on April 17, courted a fresh controversy as a voter. She had an exchange of words with a polling agent in the booth in Ariadaha where she went to cast her ballot, saying the agent was creating disruptions. She also said the agent was of the TMC though the latter said he was an Independent polling agent.

1.22 pm: West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta casts his vote in Bidhannagar constituency in North 24 Parganas.

12.50 pm: The EC has received 12,000 complaints so far.

12.20 pm: Temperature now: Howrah - 37 degrees Celsius; North 24 Parganas - 37 degrees; Kolkata - 37 degrees

12.15 pm: Complaint filed against BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly. She was also accused of leading a procession near booths, shoving a TMC supporter and arguing with central forces.

12.15 pm: Voter turnout till 11 am: 42.01%
Howrah: 41.25%; North 24 Parganas: 42.37%

11.57 am: Actor Abir Chattapadhyay, known for portraying his role of Byomkesh Bakshi, casts his vote in Salt Lake.

11.35 am: EC seeks report on BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly's activities on polling day.

11.30 am: The EC has received 400 complaints till 11 am. [3-year-old child beaten for his parents support Left]

11.05 am: Left candidate in Dum Dum North Tanmay Bhattacharya attacked. He has sustained injury in his hand but refused to receive treatment till the culprits are arrested. His car was also vandalised.

As the 4th Phase of the West Bengal polls commences, calling upon those who are voting today to do so in record numbers.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 25, 2016

A 3.5 year old child is even not spared by TMC goons as his father is a Left polling agent!Fear&frustration of loosing ground at its zenith!

— Surjya Kanta Mishra (@SurjyaKMishra) April 25, 2016

10.35 am: Temperature now: Howrah: 35 degrees Celsius; North 24 Parganas 35 degrees; Kolkata 35 degrees

10.15 am: Voter turnout till 9 am: 21.87%
Howrah: 20.34%; North 24 Parganas: 22.63%

10.10 am: Central force personnel beat up a voter after suspecting him as an outsider; the injured named Sanirul Haque admitted in hospital.

10.08 am: The Election Commission has received over 200 complaints in first two hours of polling.

10.07 am: Come out and vote for whoever you want; don't sit at home, BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly tells people on election day. Opposition accuses her of trying to influencing voters.

10.00 am: Roopa Ganguly gets involved in brawl with TMC supporter in a booth in her constituency Howrah North. [Come out of your home and vote, Roopa Ganguly tells voters]

Early night. Early start Mon. Day 5 of #BengalPolls #AITCWinning

— Derek O'Brien (@quizderek) April 24, 2016

9.25 am: An elderly couple stopped from casting their ballots in Halishahar in North 24 Parganas district. "Why take the pain of voting, they told us," said the couple. [Mamata, Derek land in legal soup over morphed picture]

9.20 am: Central forces put up strong vigilance in Rajarhat New Town to stop 'outsiders' from entering the area. The EC is extra careful in Phase 4 keeping in mind the violence that had marred the civic polls last October.

#AITCWinning #BengalPolls Polling underway across 49 seats in North 24 Parganas and Howrah | https://t.co/HzXNMllA7p pic.twitter.com/Dk7MpgUgME

— AITC (@AITCofficial) April 25, 2016

8.48 am: BJP candidate from Howrah North Roopa Ganguly accuses TMC of rigging; Cong candidate Santosh Pathak also makes similar charges. [Top contest: Roopa Ganguly vs Laxmi Shukla]

8.35 am: Three TMC supporters detained for allegedly beating up voters. In Howrah, Opposition agents have been obstructed from entering booths. The TMC has been accused.

8.10 am: Three-and-half-year-old allegedly beaten up by TMC goons in Beejpur seat; Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu is the MLA here. The child's parents are known to be CPI(M) supporters.

7.56 am: Temperature now: Howrah (31 degree Celsius); North 24 Parganas (31 degree Celsius). Voters have come out early to cast their ballots.

7.50 am: If required, remove central forces, Trinamool councillor in Howrah tells his supporters, say TV reports.

7.45 am: TMC supporters allegedly rip off BJP flag and festoons at the residence of party's candidate in Bangaon North constituency in North 24 Parganas.

7.42 am: Opposition's poll agents have been allegedly targeted by supporters of the ruling TMC in Barrackpore, Dum Dum and New Town constituencies in North 24-Parganas district.

7.40 am: In the Sundarbans region, officials have been equipped with ham radio operations to solar lights to ensure the electorate can exercise their voting rights.

7.28 am: Khardaha constituency in North 24 Parganas district is witnessing a contest between two finance ministers: Amit Mitra of the current TMC regime and Asim Dasgupta, his predecessor in the Left regime. Mitra defeated the same opponent in the 2011 by 26,154 votes.

7.27 am: Fates of a number a ministers of the Mamata Banerjee government will be decided today; Mamata's fate to be decided on April 30.

4th phase of #WestBengal election: A differently-abled person arrives to cast his vote at a polling stn in Salt lake pic.twitter.com/9h619m9QiT

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2016

7.24 am: Trinamool Congress has 43 of the 49 seats going to polls today; Left has 3, Congress 2, BJP 1.

4th phase of #WestBengal election: Polling in 49 constituencies to begin shortly (Visuals from Salt Lake) pic.twitter.com/R8FzQG1oMM

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2016

Voting underway for 4th phase of #WestBengal election, people cast their votes at a polling booth in Howrah pic.twitter.com/3ZuekCiXu7

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2016

7.20 am: Long queues are seen outside polling stations in various constituencies of the two districts.

Polling begins at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm.

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