Indian Voters Brave Heat As Tamil Nadu, West Bengal Record 75% Turnout In Tight State Polls

2026-04-23 02:19:11

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Millions of voters turned up in the searing heat on Thursday, to exercise their franchise in elections to two key Indian states: West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Over 4,000 candidates are in the fray for the 234 seats in the southern Indian state. In West Bengal, 1,478 candidates are contesting for 152 seats in the first phase, while the second phase on April 29 will see 1,448 battle it out for 142 seats.

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According to the Election Commission of India, West Bengal saw 90 per cent turnout by 5pm (local time) Thursday, with many constituencies reporting above 90 per cent voters.

Even Tamil Nadu reported 82 per cent turnout by 5pm (local time), with some constituencies such as Namakkal, Karur, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur reporting more than 80 per cent voters.

Counting of votes for the two states as well as Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, will take place on May 4 and the final tally will be out by the end of the day.

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Besides chief minister M.K. Stalin and his deputy Udhayanidhi Stalin, several celebrities also turned out at the voting booths in Tamil Nadu in the morning. They included actor-politician Vijay, who recently floated his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and threatens to upset the two traditional parties, the ruling DMK and the AIADMK.

Other popular stars seen in the morning included Kamal Haasan, Rajinikant and Ajith Kumar. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami cast his vote in Salem.

Second straight term

The BJP is in a tie-up with the AIADMK. Stalin is seeking a second straight term in the state. In the 2021 contest, the DMK-led alliance won 159 of the 234 seats, while the AIADMK-led coalition won just 75.

In West Bengal, campaigning for the 2nd phase also continued on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told a gathering at Kakdwip stadium in South 24 Parganas district that May 4 (when the counting takes place) would mark the 'expiry' date of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been led by chief minister Mamata Bannerjee for 15 years. Modi described her term as“TMC's 15-year-old syndicate system and maha jungle raj”.

“There's not one sector in Bengal where work gets done without bribes, where TMC syndicates and their middlemen don't take cut money,” he said.“That 15-year-old syndicate system and the 'maha jungle raj' of TMC have reached their expiry date, which is May 4.”

Banerjee also lashed out at the BJP. "I will fight to the very last to protect Bengal and every soul within it,” she said.“Those conspiring to divide our people, malign our state, strip away democratic rights, and exploit and humiliate the people of Bengal will not succeed.”