KOLKATA: The first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections on Thursday set a high-decibel tone for a tightly fought contest with an exceptionally heavy turnout as voters across 152 constituencies had their say after months of rancour over deletion of names from electoral rolls and a vituperative political campaign.

Sporadic incidents of violence failed to deter the electorate as the turnout exceeded 90 per cent, a figure that led both the rival parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), to express hopes of a decisive verdict in their favour. While the former chose to construe it as a strong anti-incumbency sentiment, the ruling party felt people voted in larger numbers to avoid losing their rights.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Nadia, described the turnout as an “overwhelming mandate for change” and asserted that poll-related violence was at its lowest in five decades, a claim sharply contested by the ruling party.