Bihar records lowest voter turnout with 53%, West Bengal tops with 81% in 1st phase of Lok Sabha elections

West Bengal on Thursday recorded a polling percentage of 81 per cent, while Bihar recorded 50 per cent voter turnout in phase one of Lok Sabha elections. Two seats in West Bengal -- Cooch Behar and Alipurduars -- went to poll in the first phase. The state will have polling in all seven phases.

Bihar recorded voter turnout of 50 per cent, the lowest among the 18 states and two union territories which went to polls Thursday, the Election Commission said.

This time however, the poll panel did not share the overall polling percentage at its briefing, saying the data was being collated and would be available later. The two seats in Jammu and Kashmir -- Jammu and Baramulla -- recorded an overall percentage of 54.49 as compared to 57.19 in the 2014 general elections.

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In Baramulla, the turnout was 35.01 per cent as compared to 38.5 per cent last time. In Jammu, 72.16 per cent of voters turned up at the polling stations, as compared to 69.17 per cent last time.

Andhra Pradesh, where all seats went to polls in the first phase, recorded a turnout of 66 per cent as compared to 74.64 per cent in the last LS polls.

In Mizoram, where the entire state went to polls in a single phase, recorded a dip in turnout. While last time the turnout was 61.95 per cent, this time it was 60 per cent. The turnout in all constituencies is likely to go up as final reports were yet to come in, EC officials told reporters.

Similarly in Lakshadweep, the percentage this time was 66 as compared to 86 in 2014.

In Arunachal Pradesh, where both the constituencies went to polls, the turnout stood at 66 per cent as compared to 86 per cent in 2014.

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