Over 50 pc votes cast till 1 pm in West Bengal's 3 Lok Sabha seats

A voter turnout of 50.96 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in the three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal where elections were underway in the first phase on Friday, officials said.

Polling started at 7 am in Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduars seats, where a total of 56.26 lakh people are eligible to vote, they said.

"Till 1 pm, the voter turnout in Coochbehar was 50.69 per cent, while that in Jalpaiguri was 50.65 per cent, and in Alipurduars was 51.58 per cent," an election official said.

All three seats are reserved, with Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri for SCs and Alipurduars for STs.

A total of 37 candidates are in the fray in the three constituencies where voting will continue till 6 pm.