West Bengal recorded brisk polling on Thursday with over 62 per cent of the 3.60 crore electors in the first phase of the Assembly elections exercising their franchise till 1 pm amid sporadic incidents of violence, voter intimidation and assault on a BJP candidate. Polling in 16 districts that began at 7 am on Thursday will decide the electoral fate of 1,478 candidates, including 167 women, in 152 constituencies of the 294-strong state Assembly.

Braving hot and humid conditions, voters queued up in large numbers outside polling booths since morning, with voting picking up pace as the hours progressed.
The voter turnout was 18.76 per cent in the first two hours, and it slowly gathered pace, reaching 41.11 per cent at 11 am and 62.18 per cent at 1 pm, according to the Election Commission.