84 pc turnout in Bengal poll

East Midnapore district recorded the highest polling at 89.27 per cent followed by Burdwan 87.92 per cent, Hoogly 82 per cent and Howrah 79.45 per cent till 5 pm. "The final percentage is likely to go up as people have queued up in several booths even after the scheduled closure of polling,"  Additional Chief Electoral Officer N K Sahana told newsmen here.

The fourth phase in which Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh was assigned to act as special observer by the EC, saw some minor incidents that did not affect the overall peaceful polling.

According to Sahana, a Trinamool Congress polling agent, Dar-us-Salam had been arrested from booth number 53 in Nandigram in East Midnapore district since he had non-bailable arrest warrant against him. Altogether, three CPM workers were held in Khankul and Jangipara in Hooghly for trying to influence voters and two more were arrested at Haldia in East Midnapore on the charge of trying to cast bogus votes. Police cane-charged  Trinamool Congress and CPM activists who were involved in a scuffle outside a booth in the Burdwan South constituency. They later arrested a CPM leader for trying to influence the voters with a fake electronic voting machine (EVM).

Seven presiding officers were replaced for varied reasons. One of them fell sick and had to be hospitalised at Chinsurah in Hooghly district. He had been replaced by another officer after polling remained suspended for some time. Five officers were removed following allegations of partiality.

   EVMs in 92 booths were replaced for technical reasons, he said, adding while 86 were replaced before the start of polls, six more were changed after the polling began. Reports of several polling agents and voters being assaulted after polling also came in from different areas.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose alleged that the CPM failed to put up polling agents in 98 booths following intimidations and threat by the rival Trinamool Congress. Trinamool Congress later denied the allegation and complained to the Election Commission against deployment of state police personnel in some booths at Haldia in violation of the commission directive for deployment of central forces inside booths.

Around 1.26 crore voters were to choose their representatives from among 366 candidates. Among the star candidates in the fray on Tuesday were Industries Minister Nirupam Sen, Agriculture Minister Naren Dey, Higher Education Minister Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury, Information and Culture Minister Soumendranath Bera and Fire and Emergency Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee.