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As polling for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections concluded, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kharagpur Sadar candidate Dilip Ghosh on Thursday hailed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for conducting elections in two phases, adding that voting percentage in and around Kolkata was "historic".
Speaking to reporters here, Ghosh criticised Mamata Banerjee for making the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) an issue, saying no one can win an election by making it an issue. "Just like the first and second innings of cricket. The winning team plays well in both innings. So whatever happened in the first phase, the second phase was a continuation of the same. Voting percentage in and around Kolkata was historic. I had said that Gyanesh Kumar had taken on a huge challenge of conducting elections in two phases. The public's cooperation, the administration, the police, and the commission's combined vote is very good... Mamata Banerjee holds so many rallies. But she only had one issue- SIR... No one can win an election by making SIR an issue..." he added. West Bengal has achieved its highest voter turnout since independence, reaching a historic 92.67 per cent during Phase II of the elections. However, the polling day also witnessed high political tensions between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the deployment of security forces in the state. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), poll participation in West Bengal (Phase-II) stood at 92.67 per cent. In phase I of the elections on April 23, the poll participation was 93.19 per cent, resulting in a staggering combined poll percentage over the two phases at 92.47 per cent. "The combined poll percentage over the two phases stands at 92.47%. Previously, the highest poll-participation in WB was 84.72% (2011 GELA), " a release from the ECI said. The voter turnout was high across the board, with female voters leading at 92.28 per cent and male voters not far behind at 91.07 per cent. ECI said that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, kept a close watch on the polling through live-webcasting, which was ensured in 100% of the Polling Stations in West Bengal (Phase-II) as well. The counting of votes will take place on May 4. (ANI)
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