Security was stepped up after violence in the third phase of West Bengal Assembly Elections' polling. (PTI Image)
The 49 seats which went to polls today in the fourth phase of assembly elections in West Bengal saw a 78.05 per cent voter turnout, the Election Commission said. This phase will seal the fate of many ministers of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Here the latest developments:
Voting took place in North 24 Parganas, Bidhannagar and Howrah districts, in over 12,000 polling stations, which the Election Commission said was a "smooth affair."
In the 2011 assembly polls, the turnout in these constituencies was 83.81 per cent and 81.49 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
A number of Trinamool ministers like Amit Mitra, Purnendu Basu, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Bratya Basu, Jyotipriyo Mullick and Aroop Roy are among the 345 candidates who contested today.
Among those whose performance was closely watched was former state transport and sports minister Madan Mitra, who is contesting from Kamarhati seat in North 24 Parganas district while lodged in Alipore jail over the 2014 in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam case.
Trinamool Congress chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee campaigned for Mr Mitra in his constituency saying he has been a victim of a conspiracy by the Centre.
Among new faces in polls this time were BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya's daughter Vaishali and former Bengal cricket captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla - both contesting on Trinamool tickets. Mr Shukla faces a stiff battle from actress-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly of BJP.
In his campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed Mamata Banerjee had "virtually conceded defeat" which, he said, was evident in the manner in which the first three phases of elections were held in the state.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on the other hand has accused both PM Modi and Ms Banerjee of "resorting to falsehood and bluffing people".
Fending off attacks from the Narada sting, which purportedly showed her party leaders accepting bribes, Ms Banerjee said she would have "given a thought" before choosing candidates had the tapes been telecast earlier.
The issue of 'Syndicate Raj' or an alleged nexus of political leaders and builders to supply inferior construction materials at a premium, has also turned up heat on the ruling party this time.
