New Delhi [India], April 23 (ANI): The states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are seeing mega voter turnout even during the first few hours of voting. The voter turnout in West Bengal (Phase 1) was recorded at 41.11 per cent, while in Tamil Nadu it was recorded at 37.57 per cent at 11 am on Thursday, according to Election Commission of India.

In Tamil Nadu, the highest turnout of 42.45 per cent was in Tiruppur district followed by Namakkal at 41.41 per cent, then Erode at 41.00 per cent. Chennai district registered a turnout of 35.47 per cent, Coimbatore at 38.62 per cent and Madurai at 36.22 per cent. The lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Nilgiris at 32.62 per cent

In West Bengal Paschim Mednipur district recorded a high turnout of 44. 68 percent followed by Jhargam at 43.71 per cent and Bankura at 43.22 per cent. The lowest turnout was recorded in Malda at 38.22 per cent.

Polling for the Assembly elections began in Tamil Nadu and 152 constituencies in West Bengal amid tight security on Thursday. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

Several leaders, including Chief Minister MK Stalin, TVK chief Vijay, DMK minister KN Nehru, along with actors Rajinikanth and Dhurv Vikram, cast their votes this morning.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said that the state's electorate comprises over 5.73 crore voters, featuring 2,93,04,905 female voters, 2,80,30,658 male voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters. The poll body is also catering to 14,59,039 first-time voters and 68,501 service voters, with 4,18,541 postal votes already received. Furthermore, 62 counting centres have already been established to ensure a smooth process after the high-stakes voting concludes

The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.

In West Bengal, the parties are contesting against one another for 294 Assembly seats. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), the first phase covers 152 Assembly constituencies, while the second phase includes 142 seats. There are a total of 1,478 candidates in the fray in this phase.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is aiming for a fourth consecutive term, while the BJP, which secured 77 seats in the previous election, is making a renewed push to form the government in the state. (ANI)