In the Phase 7 of West Bengal Assembly Election voter turnout was recorded at 75.06 percent till 5.30 pm. The polling was carried out in 34 seats of West Bengal. The highest turnout was recorded in Murshidabad, followed by Malda, Dakshin Dinajpur, Paschim Bardhaman and Kolkata South. Today, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee said that he was extremely confident that the chief minister will return to power with two third majority. He cast his vote in Bhabanipur constituency, which has been represented by Mamata Banerjee, but is being contested in this fray by Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

For 34 seats, 284 candidates are in fray in this phase and their fate will be decided by over 86 lakh voters.

Election Commission of India has deployed at least 796 companies of central forces in the seventh phase to ensure free and fair voting. It has also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence to health protocols during the election process, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The voting in this phase is happening just a day after the state registered its highest single-day spike of 15,889 infection cases on Sunday. Polling is being held at 12,068 polling stations spread over nine assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman districts, six each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda and four in Kolkata, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s home turf Bhabanipur.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

Today, the election commission of India was castigated by the Madras High court for being responsible for the second wave of Covid19. The High court stated that the officers of the poll-body should be booked with murder charges, for risking people’s lives by allowing rallies to take place.

Vote counting for the West Bengal assembly election will be held along with those for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry on May 02.