Heavy polling in West Bengal

Congress candidate from Balurghat in South Dinajpur district Om Prakash Mishra also alleged malpractices by the ruling Trinamool in some of the booths.

An electorate of 83,311,287, including 4,007,898 female, is eligible to choose their representatives from among 78 candidates in 9,755 polling stations spread over four districts - Muslim majority Malda and Murshidabad, besides North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur.

The four main rivals Trinamool Congress, Left Front, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are competing in all the seats. Among the LF partners, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is in action in five and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in one.

Among the star candidates in this phase are two union Ministers Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury (Malda South) and Deepa Dasmunsi (Raiganj), as also President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee (Jangipur) - all nominated by the Congress.

Popular Bengali band singer Soumitra Roy (Malda North) and theatre personality Arpita Ghosh (Balurghat) are nominees of Trinamool, while CPI-M central committee member Md. Salim is in fray from Raiganj, where the BJP has fielded famed actor Nimu Bhaumik.