Cooch Behar/Alipurduar: Voting began at 7 am for two parliamentary constituencies -- Cooch Behar (SC) and Alipurduar (ST) -- in northern West Bengal amid great enthusiasm and long queues at polling booths in the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Thursday.
The total voter turnout has been recorded at 80.85 percent till 5 pm. The voter turnout in Cooch Behar is 80.11 percent and in Alipurduar is 81.58 percent till 5 pm respectively.
A total of 34,54,274 voters, including 16,81,051 women and 29 registered in the 'other' category will exercise their franchise across 3844 polling stations to decide the fate of 18 candidates.
In another historic day for the dwellers of the erstwhile enclaves in Cooch Behar, they are voting to elect a government at the centre for the first time, marking another giant leap in their absorption into India after nearly seven decades of stateless existence.
Following the implementation of the historic Land Boundary Agreement, Bangladesh and India exchanged 162 adversely-held enclaves on August 1, 2015.
Organised tea garden workers and their dependents form a sizeable chunk of voters in Cooch Behar and 50 percent of the electorate in Alipurduar.
In 2014, the Trinamool Congress had won both the seats.
The Trinamool, BJP, Congress and Left Front are in the fray in both the seats. Among the Left Front partners, the RSP is contesting Alipurduar, and the All India Forward Bloc is fighting it out in Cooch Behar.
The subsequent phases of polls will be held on April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.
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