Assembly Election 2021 voting percentage LIVE Updates: Phase 3 concludes with over 82% polling in Assam at 7 pm; Tamil Nadu sees 65.11% turnout

Assembly Election 2021 voting percentage LATEST Updates: Polling was conducted peacefully in 1,53,538 polling stations spread across 475 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and for the third phase of Assam and West Bengal. At 7 pm, Assam (phase three) recorded the highest estimated turnout of 82.15 percent as per data shared on the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app. The turnout in the UT of Puducherry was 78.03%, whereas West Bengal saw 77.68 percent polling for phase three. The turnout in Kerala was 69.94 percent whereas, in Tamil Nadu, the turnout was 65.11 percent. The Lok Sabha by-elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu saw estimated polling of 67.96 percent and 62.41 percent, respectively. These figures, however, are likely to change with the Election Commission releasing a final statement on voter turnout. As per data shared by the Election Commission on its Voter Turnout app, at 6.35 pm, Assam (phase three) recorded the highest turnout at over 80 percent, followed by Puducherry, West Bengal (phase three), Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At 6.30 pm, Assam reported a turnout of 80.32 percent, whereas 78.03% turned out to vote in the UT of Puducherry. In West Bengal, polling was 77.68 percent for phase three, whereas, Kerala reported a 69.94 percent and Tamil Nadu saw a turnout of 65.11 percent. The Lok Sabha by-elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu saw estimated polling of 67.96 percent and 62.41 percent, respectively. These figures, however, are likely to change with the Election Commission releasing a final statement on voter turnout. At 6 pm, the estimated voter turnout in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which had been seeing a slow turnout throughout the day, marginally improved to 64.92 percent. The Lok Sabha by-elections in Tamil Nadu saw estimated polling of 57.85 percent. The turnout in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and UT of Puducherry remained the same. In Assam, where polling is being held for the third and final phase, 78.94 percent of electors exercised their franchise on Tuesday at 5.30 pm, based on data available on EC’s Voter Turnout app. The state of West Bengal saw a turnout of 77.68 percent for phase three, whereas Kerala reported 69.93 percent and Tamil Nadu saw 63.16 percent turnout. The UT Of Puducherry reported 77.90 polling till 5.30 pm. The UT Of Puducherry reported 77.90 polling till 5.30 pm. The Lok Sabha by-elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu saw estimated polling of 67.96 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively. At 5 pm, Tamil Nadu continued to report the lowest turnout with just over 55 percent electors exercising their franchise. The turnout in Kerala was marginally higher at 60.5 percent, whereas the Union Territory of Puducherry reported 66.91 percent polling. West Bengal, which saw polling in 31 seats as part of the third phase, reported the highest at 68.4 percent. However, turnout in Assam, which underwent polling for the third and final phase, remained unchanged at 5 pm.  By 4.15 pm, Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district records highest turnout of 61.35 percent while Chennai witnesses low polling at 39.23 percent, according to the Election Commission’s approximate voter turnout trends. According to the Election Commission’s approximate voter turnout trends, till 3.30 pm, Assam records voter turnout of 68.31 percent, Kerala of 58.48 percent, Puducherry of 66.59 percent, Tamil Nadu of 52.98 percent and West Bengal of 67.24 percent. As of 3.01 pm, Assam records voter turnout of 54.08 percent, Kerala of 48.45 percent, Puducherry of 54.27 percent, Tamil Nadu of 42.14 percent and West Bengal of 54.43 percent, according to the Election Commission’s approximate voter turnout trends. According to the Election commission figures, about 48.71 percent polling was recorded by 1.30 pm, six hours after polling commenced at 7 am for 140 Assembly seats in Kerala, reports news agency PTI. By 1 pm, Assam records voter turnout of 34.25 percent, and West Bengal 35.23 percent, according to the Election Commission’s approximate voter turnout trends. Till 11.45 am, West Bengal records poll percentage of 34.71 in three districts where polling is being held for phase three. Hooghly district records highest turnout of 37.26 percent, South 24 Parganas records the lowest at 32.44 percent while Howrah district sees 36.97 percent turnout, according to the approximate voter turnout trends of the Election Commission. As of 11 am, Kerala records 16.06 percent voter turnout, according to the Election Commission’s voter turnout app. Idukki district registers the highest voter turnout of 20.61 percent while Kasargod records the lowest with 13.18 percent.  By 10.25 am, Tamil Nadu registers voter turnout of 8.76 percent. Among districts, Dharmapuri registers the highest of 11.86 percent while Chennai records the lowest turnout of 4.93 percent, according to the Election Commission’s approximate voter turnout trends. Of the three districts in West Bengal voting on Tuesday, Hooghly registered the highest voting percentage at 17.21 percent. Howrah witnessed 15.53 percent polling whereas, South 24 Parganas registered 12.89 percent turnout. Among the 14 districts in Kerala voting on Tuesday, Alappuzha registered a voting percentage of 0.97 percent. Data for the rest 13 districts is yet to be released. According to the latest data released by the Election Commission, Kerala recorded a voting percentage of 0.06 percent on Tuesday till 8 am in the single-phased Assembly polls. While single-phase elections are being held in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry for 234, 140 and 30 seats respectively, 40 seats in Assam will go to polls in the third and final phase. In West Bengal, polling will take place in 31 seats in the third of the eight phases.  Bypolls to Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu and Malappuram Parliamentary constituency in Kerala will also be conducted simultaneously. In West Bengal, more than 78.5 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise and decide the fate of 205 candidates in the three districts of  Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas. Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful voting, with 618 companies of CAPF deployed to guard 10,871 polling stations, all of which have been marked “sensitive” by the Election Commission. State police forces will also be deputed at strategic locations to aid the CAPF. The poll panel also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in all the 31 constituencies, reported news agency PTI quoting an official, under which public gatherings are prohibited. With the coronavirus situation in the state taking a turn for the worse, polling will be held from 7 am to 6.30 pm amid strict adherence to health protocols across all 31 constituencies. West Bengal recorded 80.43 percent voter turnout in Phase 2 of the Assembly polls on 1 April.  Bankura district, with 82.78 percent, witnessed the highest turnout while South 24 Parganas registered the lowest turnout at 79.66 percent The TMC had won 30 of these Assembly segments in the 2016 elections while the Congress had managed to bag the Amta constituency in Howrah district. Following the 2019 general elections, however, the BJP has emerged as the main contender against the TMC Prominent candidates in the fray in Bengal in phase three include being BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, TMC minister Ashima Patra and CPM leader Kanti Ganguly. In Tamil Nadu, as many as 3,998 candidates, including Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, DMK president MK Stalin, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan, Naam Tamizhar Katchi leader Seeman and BJP state unit chief L Murugan are in the fray. Over 6.28 crore eligible voters will choose 234 members of the 3,998 contesting the elections. The polling will decide whether the AIADMK will retain power for the third consecutive term or whether the DMK will reclaim it after a decade in Opposition. The DMK has been in the Opposition since 2011 when the AIADMK under Jayalalithaa stormed to the ruling saddle and also retained power in the subsequent elections in 2016. In Kerala, 2.74 crore voters will exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 957 candidates including high-profile leaders and Independent candidates. The total electorate in the state includes 1,32,83,724 male voters, 1,41,62,025 female voters and 290 transgenders, according to Election Commission figures. The ruling LDF is hoping to retain power for a second consecutive term breaking the state’s four-decades-old trend of alternating between the UDF every five year. While the UDF is all confident to form their government when the results are out on 2 May , the BJP-led NDA is leaving no stone unturned to garner maximum number of seats to become a decisive force in the state’s rule. Key candidates trying their electoral luck include Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, health minister KK Shailaja, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Power Minister MM Mani, Higher Education Minister KK Jaleel from the LDF and  Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and former chief minister Oommen Chandy from the UDF. The election is crucial for an array of BJP leaders including former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan, who joined the saffron party recently, state president K Surendran, senior leader Shobha Surendran, Rajya Sabha members Suresh Gopi and KJ Alphons and others. The election is equally significant for Kerala Congress (M) chief Jose K Mani who recently snapped decades-long ties with the UDF and joined hands with the Left front. In Assam, polling for the third and final phase will decide the fate of  337 candidates, including state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,his five cabinet colleagues and BJP state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass. Also in the fray are 20 MLAs — eight from the Congress, five from the BJP, three each from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the BPF and one from the AGP. The BJP is contesting in 20 seats while its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in nine and the United Peoples Party Liberal in eight, including a friendly contest between the saffron party and the UPPL in Bijni. The Congress has put up 24 candidates while the the AIUDF has fielded candidates in 12 seats, the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) in eight and the CPM in one. The Congress and AIUDF are in friednly contests in five seats. The newly floated AJP is contesting in 22 seats while there are 126 Independents in the fray in the final phase of the election in which the BJP-led coalition is seeking to return to power for the second term in a row. Polling will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm, with the timing extended by an hour to ensure that COVID-19 protocols are adhered to in the constituencies spread across 12 districts. Altogether 79,19,641 voters — 40,11,539 men, 39,07,963 women and 139 of the third gender are entitled to exercise their franchise in 11,401 polling stations and 45,604 polling personnel have been deployed for the phase. A total of  30 Assembly segments including five reserved constituencies.Puducherry and its outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam will go to the polls on Tuesday. The AINRC is seeking election from 16 seats after sharing the remaining 14 seats with BJP (nine) and AIADMK (four). Similarly, the Congress is contesting in 14 seats and supporting an Independent in Yanam while its allies the DMK is seeking election from 13 seats. The VCK and CPI, constituents of the alliance led by Congress, are wooing voters in Oulgaret and Thattanchavady constituencies respectively. AINRC founder leader N Rangasamy seeking election from Thattanchavady in Puducherry and the lone seat in Yanam, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh. PCC president AV Subramanian is seeking election from his home town of Karaikal (north) while AIADMK convenors A Anbalagan and Om Sakthi Segar are testing their luck in Uppalam and Orleanpet segments respectively. Four former Ministers MOHF Shah Jahan, M Kandasamy and R Kamalakannan are contesting from Kamaraj Nagar, Embalam (reserved) and Tirunallar respectively. Shahjahan had been contesting from Kalapet segment all along but now he is fielded by the Congress in Kamaraj Nagar and he is pitted against the BJP candidate A John Kumar. John Kumar and his son Richards (Nellithope constituency) are fighting the poll on BJP ticket. Narayanasamy who headed the Congress government here since 2016 has now opted out of the poll battle. The previous PWD Minister A Namassivayam, who had been getting elected from his hometown Villianoor, is contesting from Mannadipet. Assam recorded 76.96 percent turnout  across 39 Assembly constituencies in Phase 2 of the Assembly polls on 1 April. Nalbari district, with 86.69 percent, witnessed the highest turnout while Cachar registered the lowest turnout at 72.28 percent. With inputs from PTI