Record voting in Bengal and Tamil Nadu: Highest voter turnout since independence, violence also stopped after five decades

News Topical, Digital Desk : Bengal and Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest voter turnout since independence on Thursday. Bengal saw 92.54 percent turnout in all 152 seats, and Tamil Nadu saw 84.69 percent turnout in all 234 seats. Furthermore, Bengal witnessed a violence-free election for the first time in five decades, except for sporadic violence.

In the 2021 Bengal elections, 81.16 percent voting took place in the first phase, whereas in Tamil Nadu, the highest voting percentage was 78.29 percent in 2011 and then the AIADMK government was formed. According to the Kolkata Bureau, this time a completely opposite scene was seen in Bengal, which has been notorious for electoral violence for decades.

Voting for the first phase of the elections, covering 152 constituencies across 16 districts, was generally peaceful. The first phase of voting, conducted after a lengthy Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, was met with widespread enthusiasm. Voters cast their ballots amid unprecedented security arrangements at polling stations.

Greater participation of women

Women also showed significant participation. Migrant workers returning from various states also cast their votes in good numbers. According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal, queues of voters remained at various polling stations even after 6 p.m., so the final figure may increase.

With the completion of the first phase of polling, the political fate of several bigwigs including BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and Dilip Ghosh, Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Aam Janata Unnayan Party's Humayun Kabir and Congress's Shankar Malakar from Matigara-Naxalbari got locked in the EVMs.

Election analysts cite the impact of the SIR and a sense of security as two key reasons for the bumper turnout. They say that after the SIR, people have become more vigilant about voting, while many have voted out of fear of their names being struck off the list. The unprecedented security arrangements put in place by the Election Commission this time also contributed to the increased voter turnout.

It is worth noting that 2,407 companies of central forces, 2,193 quick response teams, and 40,000 police personnel were deployed for the first phase. During the voting, temperatures reached 40 degrees in many districts, but voters braved the sun, heat, and humidity to cast their votes.

No major untoward incident occurred

While there were no major untoward incidents during the voting, unlike in previous elections, there were some isolated incidents. BJP candidate Suvendu Sarkar was attacked by a mob in Siliguri and fled for his life. In Khayrasole, Dubrajpur Assembly constituency, Birbhum district, some people pelted stones at central forces.

Six police officers were injured. A police vehicle was also vandalized. Five people have been arrested for beating a BJP candidate in Kumarganj, South Dinajpur district. Some people attacked the vehicle of Agnimitra Pal, the BJP candidate from Asansol South.

BJP polling agents were attacked in Birbhum's Labhpur and Malda's Chanchal areas. Some people threw bombs in the Naoda assembly constituency of Murshidabad district on Wednesday night. Trinamool Congress MP Abu Taher Khan has blamed members of Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party for the attacks.

The incident led to clashes between supporters of the Trinamool Congress and Humayun's party on Thursday morning. The Commission has sought a report from the local administration regarding the incident. Three people have been detained in connection with the incident. Four people died due to illness during voting.

Highest voter turnout in Karur district of Tamil Nadu

According to PTI from Chennai, 84.69 percent of the 5.73 crore voters exercised their franchise in the elections held for 234 seats in Tamil Nadu. Karur district of the state topped the voting percentage with 91.86 percent. Chennai recorded 83.09 percent voting, while in Madurai it was 80.15 percent. Coimbatore recorded 84.40 percent voting and Tiruchirapalli district recorded 85.04 percent voting.

The Kolathur Assembly constituency in Chennai, where DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin is contesting, recorded 85.63 percent voter turnout as of 6 pm. Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni recorded 83.58 percent voter turnout. Deputy Chief Minister and Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi, is contesting this urban constituency for the second time. The Edappadi constituency in Salem recorded 91.61 percent voter turnout.

AIADMK general secretary and former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami is contesting from his traditional seat and is facing a challenge from the DMK. Meanwhile, actor Vijay's party, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), is supporting an independent candidate after his nomination was rejected due to technical reasons.

It should be noted that after the SIR, the number of voters has declined from 64.1 million in October 2025 to 57.3 million at present. Therefore, approximately 62.9 million voters were registered for the 2021 elections, an increase of 5.6 million from this year.

Highest voter turnout in assembly elections after independence

The first phase of the Bengal Assembly elections on Thursday saw the highest voter turnout since independence, at over 90 percent. Election Commission data shows that this is the highest voter turnout in any election in the history of Indian democracy.

Neither the Assembly nor the Lok Sabha. Voter turnout in smaller Northeastern states has hovered around this figure, but larger states have never reached this figure. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Tripura recorded a voter turnout of 91.4 percent, reflecting a trend of high voter turnout in Northeastern states.

Whenever there was record voting, then the power changed.

Another interesting fact is associated with Bengal's electoral history. Whenever record voter turnout has occurred, power has changed hands in the state. This happened in 1967, 1977, and 2011. In 1967, the state recorded a voter turnout of 62.5 percent, and voters ousted the Congress from power. The United Front coalition formed the government.

In 1977, people were angry about the Emergency and President's rule, and in the assembly elections, people voted overwhelmingly, bringing the Left to power. However, voter turnout was recorded at 55.2 percent. There were also allegations of misuse of government machinery in the elections. The 2011 assembly elections saw a record 84.5 percent voter turnout, ousting the Left from power after 34 years, and the Trinamool Congress formed the government.

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