Over 15% votes polled till 9 am in 3 Bengal LS seats

Over 15 per cent of 56.26 lakh voters of three Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal exercised their franchise till 9 am on Friday (April 19), an Election Commission official said.

In the first phase of elections, voting is underway in Cooch Behar, Alipurduars, and Jalpaiguri seats. All three seats are reserved, with Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri for SCs and Alipurduars for STs.

"Till 9 am, voter turnout in Coochbehar is 15.26 per cent while that in Alipurduars and Jalpaiguri is 15.91 per cent and 14.13 per cent respectively," the official said in Kolkata.

A total of 37 candidates, including Union minister and BJP leader Nisith Pramanik (Cooch Behar), are in the fray in the three constituencies.

Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.