A 92.47 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 7:00 PM for the second phase of the West Bengal elections, with the Election Commission (EC) calling it peaceful.
The EC has also said that the figures would go up to 93 per cent, as reports of polling data were coming in because voters standing in line before the 6 PM deadline were still casting their vote.
There were minor skirmishes seen throughout the day, but no major poll violence reports were received by the polling body.
As many as 397 arms and 1,383 crude bombs were recovered over the course of the day, in addition to 687 preventive arrests and 19 arrests linked to specific cases.
Kalighat, in the Bhabanipur constituency, saw security forces resorting to lathi charges after the BJP Bhabanipur candidate Suvendu Adhikari was passing by a polling booth and some voters shouted 'Joy Bangla' slogans.
“If two people are fighting, they are trying to bully each other; kill each other, central forces are duty-bound to intervene. Central forces will do what they are supposed to do. No one can dictate what they should do and not do," said West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal.
“They are working under the guidance of the police there. They are supplementing efforts of the police. They are not taking law and order into their own hands," Agarwal added.
The CEO also spoke about the death of an 82-year-old man inside a polling booth, who had gone with his son to cast his vote.
The voter was declared brought-dead in hospital.
“It is unfortunate. But it was not remotely connected to any poll-related violence," Agarwal pointed out.
In North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Purba Bardhaman, EVM malpractices were noticed through webcasting inside the booths. More than 26 booths in the South 24 Parganas district, had reportedly been tampered with using black tape.
As per the EC's laws, if the presiding officer informs the EC of such malpractices, then the presiding officer will not be punished.
However, if the presiding officials do not inform the EC, they will be punished with a minimum of six months' imprisonment.
There was also an incident reported in Falta in the South 24 Paraganas district, where the returning officer refused to send the reports on EVM malfunctioning. 77 re-polling complaints came in from 26 polling booths, of which 23 have been verified.
EC sources said that the re-polling schedule could be announced by Friday and is expected to be completed by May 1. Counting for both phases of the West Bengal elections will take place on May 4 for all of its 294 Assembly constituencies.