NEW DELHI: Polling for the fifth phase of the tightly-contested West Bengal assembly elections ended on Saturday evening with a voter turnout of 78.36%.
Voting took place in 15,789 polling stations which was held across 45 assembly constituencies.
A total of 319 candidates, including 38 women, contested in this phase.
The polling was held in six districts - Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman.
Jalpaiguri recorded the highest turnout with 81.71 %, while Purba Bardhaman and Nadia registered 81.67% and 81.50%.
Among the 45 constituencies, Maynaguri reported the highest turnout of voters at 85.65% while the Matigara-Naxalbari constituency recorded 81.65% and Barasat recorded 77.71%. Bidhanagar saw 61.10% of voters and Siliguri 74.83% turnout.
Sporadic violence
Polling was largely peaceful in the fifth phase of polling but a few incidents of violence were reported in some areas .
In the Shantinagar area of Bidhanagar, a clash broke out between TMC and BJP supporters with both sides accusing each other of stopping the voters from going to the polling booths.
Bricks and stones were hurled which injured at least eight people. A huge contingent of the central force was rushed to the spot to control the situation.
In Siliguri, a scuffle broke out between TMC and CPI (M) supporters outside a polling booth.
In Santipur in the Nadia district, the TMC alleged that personnel of the central forces were asking voters to go back, a charge rubbished by the authorities.
In Bijpur in North 24 Parganas, TMC and BJP supporters clashed after the opposition party alleged that voters were being prevented from going to the booths.
Locals in the Deganga constituency alleged that the central forces opened fire in the area and chased away people from a polling booth, although no one was injured. They also claimed that the forces vandalised polling booth number 81 in Kumarpur in the Deganga constituency.
The convoy of BJP candidate from Kamarhati, Raju Banerjee, was also allegedly attacked.
Earlier in the fourth phase of poling four people were killed in Cooch Behar as central forces opened fire due to alleged attack from locals.
TMC vs BJP over Mamata's 'audio tape' on Sitalkuchi firing
A fresh controversy erupted in West Bengal after the BJP yet again released a purported audio clip of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, this time on last week's firing incident in Cooch Behar in which four people were killed.
A BJP delegation met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata requesting the Election Commission to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for probing the purported audiotape of Banerjee, in which she can be heard telling the TMC candidate from the Sitalkuchi constituency to hold protests with bodies of the four killed in Cooch Behar violence.
TMC said it was "illegal and unlawful recording" and blamed the BJP's "dirty tricks department" for the audio tape.
A TMC delegation called on the Commission to take necessary action.
The voting for the sixth of the eight phase election in the state will be held on April 22. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
(With agency inputs)