Barring stray incidents of tension in certain pockets, the polling process in 152 Assembly constituencies in 16 districts of West Bengal has been overall peaceful in the first two hours on Thursday, with 18.76 per cent voting recorded till 9 a.m

Polling started at 7 am in 152 assembly constituencies across 16 districts amid unprecedented security, and till 9 am, 18.76 per cent of 3.60 crore voters exercised their franchise

At a polling booth under Raninagar Assembly constituency in minority-dominated Murshidabad district, which had already been earmarked by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as the most sensitive district

An elderly man receives assistance at a polling station during voting in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Nandigram

Tension flared up in the morning, following Congress’ allegations of their polling agent being forcefully evicted from the booth by the ruling Trinamool Congress activists

The Bankura assembly constituency registered the highest turnout at 22.05 per cent in the first two hours, followed by Samserganj in Murshidabad at 21.85 per cent and Chandrakona in Paschim Medinipur at 21.83 per cent, according to the EC

EVM glitches also disrupted voting at a few places, with officials stating that work was underway to rectify them

Congress's Suri candidate Sanjoy Adhikari alleged he was unable to cast his vote despite reaching his polling station at 7 am due to an EVM glitch

Adhikari told PTI videos, after polling remained held up for about an hour. He said the party has urged the EC to extend the polling hours at the affected booth or consider repolls if the EVM wasn't restored by 10 am

The opening round covers more than half of the state's 294 assembly seats and is being seen as the BJP's best opportunity to make an early breakthrough and the ruling Trinamool Congress's most important test in its bid for a fourth consecutive term

The second phase of polling will be held on April 29. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.